The Rogue Shadowscale
by Cearbhail
Summary: My orders? Kill my best friend. I cannont complete those orders, so I will do what I have to do. I will fight against all of Argonia, the Aldmeri Dominion, and anyone else who dares think they can touch us..
1. Ch 1: Orders?

**Cearbhail:**_ Finally, it is time for the sequel. Ok, it will take me time to do this because I'm on finals the next two weeks, so expect posting in about two weeks. Then, it will be rapid fire with this and so many new stories along the way. Not only elder scrolls, but halo, anime, I'm going to be busy for a while, but it's worth it. Anyway, please enjoy this new... The Rouge Shadowscale._

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-Nexa-

The War Room. It was the one place is all of Argonia that housed the thinkers behind Argonia's hierarchy. The leaders of the shadowwraiths, the shadowscales, the Queen, and the Warlord gathered here on a daily basis, almost hourly now that the Aedra were breathing down our necks. It was the coming of the Aedra that made us form an alliance with the shattered Empire of Cyrodiil as well as the newly forming Aldmeri Dominion. It was that reason that I was freed from the Shadowscale Prison; where only the most treasonous prisoners were sent. I was freed because I had experience fighting these creatures and now I was supposed to be in charge of my own Shadow Squad, comprised of a few shadowscales and shadowwraiths.

My time in the prison was horrifying. I almost lost touch with my sanity as the long painful days stretched by. I wasn't sure how much time had passed before the torture would start again. I wasn't sure how much pain my body could take each time my captors started again. They always seemed to know how much pain I could take. They always has a Hist with them, whose sap could heal my wounds with a tiny lap of my tongue.

After all this time and pain, do you think that I was happy to be out of prison and helping the very nation that tried to hurt me? I…I was not doing it for them, but for the friends I made while I was in the Arcane University. I wanted to see what happened to my friend. I had a small escape from my torture and heard from Lord Sithis that my friend had perished. I went into a trance to help him get back. Now, I wanted to see how he got in such a state and if he improved afterwards.

But right now…I was stuck standing with my hands tucked behind my back, looking at Warlord Zeelius. He was pacing around a holographic map of the war. The new machine was created from some of the greatest alchemic minds that the Aldmeri Dominion had at the moment. It showed all friendly forces as green, all civilians as white, all Daedric forces as yellow, and all Aedric forces as red. Right now, there was plenty of white gathered around the world, but there was almost as much red. The green and yellow forces were few and stretched thin…with Argonia as one giant empty spot. Our land was not hospitable for war so…we had a bunch of white on their way to our land.

I looked up at Warlord Zeelius. I did not know exactly what he thought about that. Was it his plan to allow refugees into our country, or was it the Queen's? Since the Queen was Warlord's Zeelius's mother, she had enough control over his military. That was the way the hierarchy of Argonia worked. The Queen's husband or son was the Warlord. Since her husband was killed during a surprise blood-raged Khajiit, her son was named the Warlord. I was only a hatchling when that happened. That was when I was sent to the Dark Brotherhood for training.

I continued to stand to the back of the round dark room, only illuminated by the single giant Welkynd cluster hanging above our heads. The room was silent as we waited for our orders. Zeelius was still just standing over the hologram, looking for something. I don't know what it was, but his blood-red eyes were scanning the image with full intensity.

"There!" His scratchy voice ripped through the air. He pointed half a claw at the mystical image of the refugees coming into Argonia. "They are taking the Southern Gideon route. If they continue through that route they will arrive in Gideon within the hour. Shadow Squad!" He looked up at me, which made me lock my arms behind my body. "Go to Gideon and deal with them."

I nodded. "Yes, Warlord. What orders do you have for the specifics on _how_ to deal with them?"

He opened to reply, but it was the Queen's voice that rung through the air. "Situate them into the refugee camp and see about turning the older ones into a formidable resistance force." She narrowed her eyes to me. "What did you believe your orders were, Shadowscale Nexa?"

I held my tongue for a second and allowed my breath to catch up to me. "I was curious if I had to detain certain individuals. Are we still imprisoning Khajiits on sight?"

The room fell into a deep uncomfortable silence. Zeelius pushed off the table and said, "Still your tongue, Shadowscale. Our history with Khajiits will not interfere with this war. Gods…I wished a few of those blood-crazy Khajiits still lived. Imagine how useful they'd be in this war."

"Sir, there is a blood-crazy Khajiit out there." One of the shadowwraiths replied.

Warlord Zeelius and the rest of the room grew silent. He glared up at the shadowwraith and said, "And how would you know this, Shadowwraith Tar-Meena?"

She bowed her head. "There was a time before the war started that a Khajiit with red eyes and a nasty temper was recorded in the Pre-Battlemage Training Program. His condition was discovered during a training exercise and he was briefly taken to a medical ward for analysis. During that time, Sister Marie Palielle shared with me the data she had on the subject. She wanted to know if some sort of Daedra was known for creating such conditions. I assured her that no such thing existed but she should try throwing holy water in his face to release whatever evil holds it."

I growled under my breath. I had no idea that Tar-Meena was shared the information of Vatu's experience. I thought I covered that incident up, but I guess I was wrong. I only hoped that she didn't remember his name.

"Do you know this Khajiit's name?" Warlord seemed wary about asking. His knuckles were pale pink with all the pressure he was building. His face looked even darker red than it did a moment ago. I could tell that he was upset. My father never liked Khajiits, not since his father was killed by one. In fact, my father lost half of his index claw thrusting his claw through an armored Khajiit bandit. It was his reminder of how much he wanted to kill them.

I looked over at Tar-Meena, who looked lost. She bowed her head. "All I know is that he is a battlemage…how many of those could there be?" She looked over at me and her eyes narrowed. "I also know that Shadowscale Nexa met this individual personally. She was assigned as his bodyguard during the uncertain moments of his condition."

The entire room's attention settled on me. Queen Ali-jinasha rose from her throne and walked a few steps toward me. "You knew this Khajiit?"

I nodded. What else could I do?

Warlord Zeelius's eyes narrowed. "The two Khajiits we captured when you arrived from the Arcane University. They were with a battlemage. Did you arrive here with a blood-raged Khajiit? Was that older on the blood-rager? Or was it the little cub?"

I shook my head. "No, it was neither. The little cub was the blood-rager's sister. The actual blood-rager was not at the University when we were attacked. He was elsewhere and I have not seen him since. From what I heard from the after-battle reports, his unit was attacked by Aedra and a powerful Khajiit was killed in action."

Warlord Zeelius's eyes averted down. I could not tell how the news hit him but it didn't matter. He brushed his cape off his shoulders and turned around. "Your new orders, Shadow Squad. Once you settle the refugees in…I want you to find this unit. If that Khajiit still exists…protect it until the end of the war. Once the war is over…slit its throat."

Both the Queen and Warlord Zeelius looked over at me. They were watching for my reaction. If only they knew how badly it hurt to hear those orders. Would I do it? Could I betray a friend like that? I don't think that I could but if I wanted to get close to him…I had to lie at least.

I bowed down to my father and said, "As you wish, Warlord."

He nodded respectfully back at me. "If you keep this up, Shadowscale, your previous rank will be restored and you will earn your right to be called my daughter again."

I looked him in the eye as evenly as I could. I did not flinch, I did not waiver. I did allow myself to smile. He was dead to me and I think he knew that. Maybe he was just too prideful to believe that I would hate him. He allowed me to be tortured for who knows how long. There was no way that being called his daughter would have any sway over me. But…I was an Argonian, this was my land, and I would honor the assignments that I would be given. Right now, that assignment was protecting my friend. The moment that assignment goes from protection to assassination…I don't know what I will do, but killing my friend won't be an option.

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_**Cearbhail: **This will be a fun ride with new enemies, and so many new characters. Not to mention... watch the end of the story when it finally comes to a close because it will prelude to a new story... you'll see._


	2. Ch 2: Preparations

**Cearbhail:**_ Chapter 2. About time? I know, it's been a very long time and with no update. I've been too busy with the Chronicles of Lydia and one chapter of the Shoutmen. The reason is simple, I found this chapter so hard to write. Now, it's over and there should be more coming sooner. Maybe one every two weeks. I'll try my best to make it sooner, though._

_Enjoy, oh and if you're reading my other Elder Scroll stories, try to catch some names and characters who WILL make some cameo appearances. The name Erandur has already poked into Lydia's story. I'm sure he will as well, but for this story, he is a vital importance. Expect to be seeing a lot of the characters from the Khajiit battlemage as well, and only one from the other story, maybe two. I have not decided yet._

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-Nexa-

The Shadow Squad. A squad of shadowscales, shadowwraiths, and myself. I am the leader of the group, as hard to believe as it is. I think it has something to do with the fact that my father wants to see if I can be trusted with a squad of my own. If I muck anything up, he'll probably behead me himself. Everything I did was reported back to him. That being said, I had a watcher. I had a Shadowmaster. He was the one person who was underneath my father. He was the Argonian version of a Battlemage Assassin. One of three Shadowmasters alive. The squad I was in control of was my father's personal squad, the one squad that did not operate with the rest of the army of Argonia. As such, any failure on my part was a failure on his part. As soon as my father gave our Shadowmaster his word, he would behead me. I already knew that I could not hope to stand up to him. He was a master of any magic and any physical combative.

My current mission: making sure my soldiers were prepared for our mission. Right now our mission was a peaceful one. We were going to shadowport to Gideon and help the refugees settle into the camps we had set up around the town. The area was surrounded by Aedra repelling magic, courtesy of the Imperial Battlemages. The spell was called Soul Separation. It blinded the Aedra to anyone around. We also knew another big secret about the Aedra; concentrated Fire magic killed them. As such, Shadowwraiths had lined almost every tree within Black Marsh with Fire Runes. We would not dare to risk losing Argonia. We were a big country, but with few real places to make our settlements in.

Still, we were going over all our combative gear in case we were under sudden attack from Aedra. I sighed as I walked into the barracks.

The room was filled with every shadowscale that our great country had. That being said, there were only a hundred or so. Every shadowscale belong to a squad. A squad comprised of three shadowscales and two shadowwraiths, overlooked by one shadowblade. A shadowblade was just an older shadowscale trained in the shadowwraith ways…or vice versa. They had to know both sides and so they could lead their squad to its highest capability.

While the rest of the room was filled with shadowscales sleeping, my squad was already up and silently organizing their armor and weapons. My three shadowscales were standing at attention, masks wrapped across their face, their hands tucked behind their backs, and their feet shoulder width apart. This was how we stood at attention. No one knew if they had weapons in their hands while they were hidden behind their backs. It looked like they were defenseless, but it was a common practice for a shadowscale to, while at attention, to attack their squad leader with a concealed weapon. Since I am something close to a betrayer, I was expecting at least one attack.

I nodded to my squad as I approached them. The three I had been assigned were fresh recruits. I guess father didn't care if no one knew what they were doing on our 'special' missions. Or, I guess it could be taken that the fresh recruits were still very gung ho, would listen to me like I was a Drill Shade, and execute any order with an enthusiasm that would long be lost with some of the older shadowscales who've 'seen the world'.

I came up on my first new recruit. I bowed to him and he nodded back. That was good. They weren't supposed to bow. Bowing could unbalance you. I was supposed to bow so that he could attempt to attack me. By nodding, he acknowledged that he was not going to attack me. So, I looked him up and down. His scale armor was brand new. It had no scratches, scuffs, or even a dent. I looked him in the eye and said, "Show me your weapons."

He moved from his position of attention and started unsheathing his weapons.

While he was busy pulling out his many blades, I looked over at everyone else. "Everyone, present your arms. I wish to be done with this as soon as possible." I was in hurry, after all. We had so much to do and little time to do it in. I thought that I'd give them a reason as to the hurry. "Our mission is to help the refugees from the other countries settle into Gideon. Once we are done, we are to find any capable warriors among the bunch and make a formidable resistance army. They are to report to Helstrom to be trained in anti-Aedra combat and magics. The Aldmeri Dominion is going to assist us in this war. They are allies, so are the Imperials. So, if we encounter any battlemages or soldiers, we are not to engage them in combat. Are we clear?"

All three of them nodded.

So, now that they knew what we were going up against, it was time that I inspected their arms. I walked across the lines of blades that every shadowscale had. Ten throwing knives that were aligned five on each leg; four daggers, two on the forearms, and two on the lower back; and one short katana. These were the weapons that we always carried with us. The daggers were and swords were all serrated to be like teeth. It helped catch other swords, helped us climb up trees if we needed to, and it was sharp enough to saw though someone's body in one pull.

I could see that everyone's weapons were perfectly sharpened and prepared for war. Their bodies looked fit and ready as well. They looked resolved, they looked ready. I guess it was time for me to give them their inspiring speech.

"I am Shadowscale Nexa: daughter of Warlord Zeelius, and granddaughter to Queen Ali-Jinasha. As such you three have been selected as the shadowscales for Shadow Squad, the personal squad of the Warlord. Our missions will be the most dangerous ones around. There is much honor to be found here and we will bring Argonia glory. You should all be honored; you are all in the strongest squad Argonia has to offer. We're so honored that Warlord Zeelius has placed a Shadowmaster as our overseer." I said, looking everyone in the eye. Everyone straightened up as soon as I said that a shadowmaster had been placed as our watcher. That was something to be feared of. No one could handle a shadowmaster and they were not negotiators. They would kill any Argonian if they did not do as ordered.

That was the world we lived in. If we did not do as ordered, we were killed. Such is the way of the Shadows. Such is the way of Argonia. We were a small nation filled with poisonous plants, deadly animals. If you as so much stepped wrong and scraped against a plant with a bard, you ended up dead. That was why we had to be the way we are. If you aren't perfect in everything you do, you will die. Shadowscales are assassins, the army of Argonia. We were the best and if we are not…we are killed.

I looked over my squad. "Are there any questions you have for me?"

One nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Why are the shadowwraiths not here with us? Are they too good to be here, being inspected?"

Ah, the old rivalry between shadowscales and shadowwraiths was already showing its ugly head. It was a common thing for the shadowwraiths to look down on the shadowscales as some foot soldier; as some piece of sword fodder. The shadowwraiths saw them as unintelligent barbarians who only know how to dismember people, while they saw themselves as masters of magicka. Illusion, Alteration, and Destruction were theirs to wield with deadly proficiency.

That was the shadowwraith beliefs. Shadowscales saw shadowwraiths as spoiled brats who didn't have to go through all the crap that shadowscales had to go through. They didn't go through a strict boot camp like they did. They spent their time in a library, studying magic. That wasn't so true, either. Shadowwraith boot camp was almost just as hard as shadowscale boot camp. It involved continuous mastery of magic and precision with it. If any amount of magic was not used correctly, the shadowwraith was severely punished.

I shook my head. "No, they will not be joining us until 0500, when we shadowport to Gideon. They are making sure that they have all their scrolls and that their variously powered wands are full."

One of the shadowscales scoffed. "I bet they're just sleeping."

I looked around my squad. "That's enough. You are a team now. If one of you fails, we all fail. Understood?"

They nodded. They stiffened up and I allowed myself to breathe. I did not need some uptight nameless soldiers. I needed a squad. I had to fix this. I looked to the blue faced Argonian in front of me. "Ok, I want to know my soldiers. You, what's your name and perhaps a hobby?"

The blue-faced Argonian looked confused. "I am Ram-ku. My hobby? I guess I like running?"

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Ram-ku." I turned over to the dark purple-faced female. "Another female? What's your name?"

"Meesei. I like alchemy and brewing poisons for my blades." She said.

I nodded to her as well. "Great, I'll remember that in case we need some poison." I looked over to my last member. "And you?"

The last Argonian was a very dark red Argonian. His scales looked almost black. I was expecting something weird. "I am Vistha. I like bunnies…" I almost smiled but then he finished his statement, "for breakfast. They're delicious."

I bowed to them. "I am Nexa, like I said earlier. My hobby is…reading books. I guess we should try to become as close as possible. You're all now brothers and sisters. We will be together through blood and war, so learn as much as you can about each other. If someone steps wrong, your brother may die…so just think about that. Remember that we will be forming up at 0445, so make sure you're all prepared. I will leave you all to your preparations."

I nodded to them and left the room. I think that they were happy enough with me just coming in and making sure that they were ready. I was a shadowscale so I had to make sure everything was perfect. It was in our blood. But, I wanted us to be more than just shadowscales. I wanted us to become a family. I wanted it that way for one reason. When it came time for me to betray them…I wanted them to hesitate, maybe even join with me. Imagine, a squad that fought alongside me because they believed in me. I could only hope that they stayed with me the minute it mattered, the moment that we received orders to kill Vatu.

I walked across the quiet swamp over to the shadowwraiths buildings. It was nice to be able to look up at the sky for once. I couldn't see any stars from my dank dungeon cell. They looked lovely now. I never seemed to notice, but something about seeing moldy walls made everything else just seem…all the more beautiful.

I entered the shadowwraith barracks and looked around. I could only see two shadowwraiths up. They were flipping through pages of some books that they were looking through. They were out of uniform and unprepared for my visit.

"Are you the two shadowwraiths assigned to Shadow Squad?" I asked, making both of them jump.

One of them jumped up to her feet and bowed. "I am, ma'am. I'm sorry, I was caught up studying black soul gems."

"Black soul gems, why?" I asked.

"Our assignment, ma'am. We're venturing into Elsweyr to find some buried ruin that holds a chamber that uses black soul gems to capture Aedra. I'm just brushing up on how to feel that type of dark magic so we can find that place faster." She looked over at her friend, "My brother, Biluuz, is helping me out."

I looked at the young pink-faced Argonian. She looked completely exhausted. I smiled and patted her on the shoulder. "Bring the book with you. I will help you study black soul gems. Don't forget that we have to form up at 0445. That's in two hours. I suggest you drink some hist sap and prepare for our mission. Where's your partner?" I looked around.

The pink-faced Argonian pointed straight up. "Oleeme is meditating right above us."

I looked up. There, floating ten feet above me was a purple robed, green-faced Argonian. He was surrounded by black/purple flames. He glanced down at me, his eyes glowing bright white. "Ma'am, I am all prepared. My wands are programmed to their fullest, my spells at the peak. I will make sure that my colleague, Nakuma, is prepared by the formation time. Go now, I have ruins to scan."

I almost chuckled under my breath. I thought he sounded a little snobby, but his voice was so light and disinterested that I think he was in a trance. I nodded and bowed before looking at them. One was completely focused and prepared, the other one looked like she forgot to eat the past two days, keeping her head in the book the whole time. I found myself smiling. Good, at least there was some balance between the two of them. But, the shadowscales were right, they were not even prepared for an inspection.

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_**Cearbhail**: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make all the shadowscales appear as tough and rigid, while the shadowwraiths have more personality and character. Over time you'll notice that everyone has their moments, though._


	3. Ch 3: War Room

**Cearbhail:**_ Yay, a chapter 3. Now we get to see a little of Warlord Zeelius and some of the people he'll be seeing on a daily basis for the next...month or so. And some of the new characters get some personality._

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-Warlord Zeelius-

The war-room was filled with bickering idiots. The noise of whining bastards reverberated off the walls and into my ears. Faces that did not belong in this room were ever present. Khajiits, Altmers dressed in black robes, Imperials, and anyone you could think of were all crammed in our war-room. They were looking at our maps, reading our tactical appraisals of the other nations. Everything we were preparing for could be ruined in moments because of the people in this room.

As I said, the room was filled with almost every representative of the major nations. There was Chancellor Fiirnar, a higher up of the newly formed Aldmeri Dominion. This alliance was formed between the Bosmer and the Altmer in the crisis of the Aedra invasion. It was the Altmer's way of taking Valenwood as their own in the disguise of helping the Bosmer defend its borders against the Aedra invading. Little did they know the end result was going to be enslavement. Now the newly formed Thalmor government was moving in on my turf and this Chancellor Fiirnar was here only as an excuse to plan our wartime strategy against the non-invading Aedra.

Ri'Saddo was a Khajiit from Elsweyr. He was here in place of their Mane. Everything that was said here was later reported back to the Mane. I'm not sure if he noticed the map with X's everywhere there was a reported blood-rager killed over the past century. It he did notice it, I'm sure that the Mane now knows that we are still hunting his ultimate warriors. It did not worry me much; I could care less if the entire nation of Elsweyr knew I was still hunting their warriors.

Then there was the Mage Guild's leader, Sosia Ernard. She was a very loud spoken leader. She pretty much sat in the corner, her arms crossed. Of course, her only role in this room was to make sure that her teams coordinated with the rest of our movements. This was the room where everything was being controlled from. This virtual map showed the whole planet and everything going on within it. This room was the only place this map could function, because this was where it was built. This map…was a gift from my new 'ally', Chancellor Fiirnar. I wondered how long our little alliance would last.

There was one last person here in this room with us. Grandmaster of the Blades Jauffre. He was just as quiet as the Mages Guild leader, sitting in his own little corner. His role was simple: everything that happened in this room was reported back to the Emperor of Cyrodiil and to the council as well. Well…the survivors of the council anyway. This was our own war council. We were the strongest tactical minds this planet had to offer so we were of course planning our attack.

The Altmer wearing his supposedly intimidating robes looked over at me, his white eyes glaring at me. "What exactly were all these intelligence reports for? If one was to think so, one would think that Black Marsh was preparing to take over Tamriel." He ran his hands across the marked map of Tamriel. "Look at this…you have all the capitals highlighted with information to how many 'sw' and 'sc' are in that section. I wonder what those mean…" He looked over at me.

Note to self: he dies later. I looked away from the map and over to the virtual map that the Altmer brought to us. I pointed down to it and said, "Can we get back to business, Chancellor Fiirnar?"

Fiirnar nodded and carefully moved away from my map. "Of course, Warlord." He looked down at the map and scanned. "As you all can see, the Aedra are focusing over Hammerfell and Skyrim. There are barely any left in Cyrodiil and your country remains untouched." He looked over at me. "You are lucky to have escaped this unharmed."

I scoffed. "I have foreigners in my hold…do you think I feel lucky?" That much was true. They all knew the secret routes through our foliage now as well as where our capital was located. We worked very hard to make sure that no one ever knew where to find us and now…they found us. Heck, we led them straight to us just because there is nowhere else to run.

Ri'Saddo, a representative of the 'great' Mane was also present in the room. He was looking down at the virtual map with quickening interest. "The Aedra are few in Elsweyr. "Ri'Saddo believes now is the time to send the scouts into Elsweyr to find this ruin."

I looked over at him and held the hatred in my tongue as I said, "Then send your scouts. Your kind are the only ones going out in the sand to dig for these ruins."

Ri'Saddo nodded. "He knows this, but is only letting everyone else know. When Khajiits find ruin, Khajiits will begin movements to secure the device. Khajiits will need help from Joint Task Force."

Fiirnar nodded. "I will begin sending in some Altmer to help with your operation, Ri'Saddo. When do we get to meet your Mane?"

Ri'Saddo smiled. "Chancellor Fiirnar will meet Mane when he visits Elsweyr. The Mane will be happy to meet you."

I looked over at the Arch-Mage of Cyrodiil's Mages Guild. I nodded to her and said, "Are your troops ready?"

She nodded. She was a tall Breton with straight black hair and a belly that was filled with an unborn baby. What the heck was she thinking coming here with that thing? I guess she came here because this was the safest room in all of Tamriel.

She looked down at the map and pointed to the long line of refugees walking into our borders. "You see the green dots surrounding all the white? Those are Battlemage group 4. That's Erandur's group. Don't be fooled by their ages…these mages are some of the strongest fighters we have."

I scoffed. "That says a lot about just how doomed your guild is."

She smiled at that comment. "Don't be fooled. The Mages Guild may be destroyed…but magic will fade. As long as people are able to feel it pulsing through their being…there will always be someone who will ask the question and find the answer. That answer will always lead them to where I'm sitting now…as an Arch-Mage."

The room grew very silent. I nodded and looked down at the map. "That was well said, Arch-Mage. I can see now why your guild respects you so much." I looked back down at the map. That was the same group of refugees that I was dispatching my Shadow Squad to help relocate to Gideon. And the squad that has the blood-raging Khajiit was among them. Good…I was hoping to get an outsiders opinion on this…creature. Shadowmaster Julanza, who was in charge of my ungrateful daughter, was going to give me a full report.

Chancellor Fiirnar smirked and looked down at the map. "Where are your troops anyway? I don't see them in Gideon, preparing for the arrival of the refugees."

I looked down at the map and saw that Gideon was in fact…empty. I growled and activated the transmitter and receiver for Shadowscale Nexa's earpiece.

"I'm about two seconds away from shoving that wand down your throat." A voice called.

"You even try to touch me and I'll fry you!" A female voice responded.

"Everyone…calm down. Now…come. You're both late. We need to shadowport to Gideon." That was my daughter's voice.

I scratched my head and looked up at the other leaders. Chancellor Fiirnar was smirking his ass off. "Well, I see you have chosen the best Black Marsh has to offer."

I groaned and looked away. "Shadowscale, Nexa! Report!"

…

-Nexa-

I stood near around my three shadowscales. We were waiting outside for the shadowwraiths. I sighed. It was well past 0445. It was 0512. They should have been here a while ago. I looked over the faces of my shadowscales. Vista was the only one who looked pissed.

He crossed his arms. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted a bunch of book reading shadowwraiths to show up on time."

I suppressed a chuckle and looked back at him. "What's wrong with reading books? I read."

"Books have words…I hate words. I'd rather kill the things that use words." He replied.

I shook my head. He was a typical fighter: all brawn, no brain. That's ok, I didn't need him to be smart; I needed him to be loyal. Loyal and stupid. The only thing that stupid would bring would be an easier time escaping him when it came time for me to turn.

I finally saw the door to the shadowwraith barracks open up. Nakuma was still pulling a boot over her foot and still fussing to get her robes on as she came charging through the door. Her pink face was flushed as she realized just how late she was. Oleeme followed from behind, his stride calm and collected. He still looked like he was in a trance.

Nakuma bowed deeply to me. "I am sorry, Shadowscale Nexa. I lost my wand."

I shook my head. "Just don't let it happen again, Nakuma."

She nodded and pulled out her wand to show it to me. "It was this wand, the one that shoots lightning."

Suddenly, the wand misfired, striking Vistha on the foot. He screamed out, more of surprise than pain. "Oh that's it." He charged up to her and grabbed her by her robes. "I'm killing her."

She pointed the wand at his head and said, "Try it."

He glanced at the wand for a second before shaking her. "I'm about two seconds away from shoving that wand down your throat." Vistha said as he pulled her closer.

"You even try to touch me and I'll fry you!" She warned. Her voice sounded reassured but I could see the fear growing her eyes.

I stepped between both of them, pushing them both away. "Everyone, calm down, now!" I said as I worked my way in between them. I pointed a finger at Vistha and gave him a look. He backed off. I turned to Oleeme and Nakuma and bowed slightly. "Come. You're both late. We need to shadowport to Gideon."

Oleeme nodded and prepared a hand-sign. Just as he was about to open a portal, I head, "Shadowscale Nexa!" Oblivion…that was my dad. "Report, now!"

I sighed and tapped the transmitter on my chest. "My apologies for the late departure. My shadowwraiths were preoccupied with an earlier assignment involving black soul gems."

"I am well aware of their previous assignment. Report to Gideon, NOW!" He screamed through my receiver.

I looked at Oleeme and arched my invisible eyebrows. "You heard him. Now.."

He sighed and opened the portal. "I'll go through last."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Let me know what you think of this so far._


	4. Ch 4: Refugee Camp

**Cearbhail:**_ Finally, we get to the refugee camp._

* * *

-Nexa-

So, our little delay from departing only led to a…small lecture from our overseer. It turned out that my father chose one of the more…strict Shadowmasters to watch over us. It was Shadowmaster Julanza. I remembered him from when I was a child. He was a silent giant who always watched over me as a child. I was convinced that he was my babysitter, but he was also my trainer. Ever since I was hatched from an egg, he was the one teaching me the finer basics of stabbing with a knife and using magic. I was not just some run of the mill shadowscale; I was trained as a shadowwraith as well. Normally, most shadowscales don't utilize most magics, only the one that allows us to shadowport. Shadowmaster Julanza taught me the stronger points of Destruction and Illusion when I was two. By the time I was three, I knew where I knife had to go to make someone die. The answer…anywhere as long as it went in deep enough.

Unfortunately, since I was the daughter of the Warlord, I was not sent to the Shadowscale Basic like everyone else. I was not sent to the Dark Brotherhood. I was raised by Shadowmaster Julanza. I was trained by Shadowmaster Julanza. If I had to name the one person who talked with me every day…who took care of me every day…who made sure I ran by a strict schedule of what to do and eat…It was always Shadowmaster Julanza. This man was more of a father to me than my own father was.

All that being said, I knew how this man worked. As soon as we arrived in Gideon, the first thing I saw was the back of the Shadowmaster standing in front of us. He was still an Argonian but he was so built looking that he looked more imposing than any Nord I've ever seen. He wore the scaly armor of a shadowscale, but his armor had some interwoven black/purple fabrics that made up a battlemage appearance. His eyes glared down at me, the rest of his head hidden by a head mask that all Shadowmasters wore. When he turned to face us, I could feel his glare right at me.

"You're late." Is all he said.

My entire squad froze at seeing him. I was the only one who bowed and looked down at the ground. "My apologies, sir. I was…unprepared." I knew the answer he wanted to hear and this was it. It would save the rest of my squad from feeling his wrath.

He glared down at me, his dark red eyes searching through my soul. He finally looked away. "The town is ready for the refugees. Your assignment still stands. Make sure they refugees settle in with little to no hassle. Be quick about it and then report to me. I want all the men over the age of 15 to assemble here in the courtyard for inspection. I want all the other children in the play area for evaluation. I want all the adult females in the nursery for evaluation as well. But most of all, out of all those groups, I want anyone who wants to fight and anyone who has a strong infinity towards magic to report to me. Understood?"

I nodded. "Yes, sir. It will be done."

He turned away. "Make sure that it is. And when you are finished with this task, you are to report to me for punishment. You and your squad need to learn their place. You are the finest Argonia has to offer and I will not allow you to embarrass our nation in a time of war."

I nodded and looked back at my squad. I looked over at Vistha and said, "Vistha…you're good at spotting good fighters, right?"

He nodded. "I am the best, ma'am."

"Good, then I want you to walk around the refugees asking for anyone who wishes to fight. Your duty will be to bring all the fighters to Shadowmaster Julanza." He nodded. I looked over at Oleeme, who nodded with understanding.

"You wish of me to magically scan all magic users and bring them forth to the Shadowmaster. I understand." He bowed deeply to me.

I could only hold my growl. "Yes…do that." I looked over at Nakuma, the other shadowwraith. "You…" I pointed to her. "I want you to make sure our runes are still set and strong. Make sure no one can scry into this town. I want the Aedra to believe it's just a hole in the ground."

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

I looked over at the two remaining shadowscales. I looked over at Meesei and Ram-ku. I nodded to them and said, "Meesei, get all the women to their housing. Ram-ku, get all the men to their housing. I will escort the children."

Shadowmaster looked back at me. "No, you will not. I will see to the children's care. I want you to meet up with the Battlemage Group 4 and see about coordinating with your new teammates. I want you to see about using them to help the refugees settle in. Once we're done here, we're moving out to our next assignment."

I bowed to him. "Yes, sir."

He smirked at me. "There is just…one more thing. The Khajiit with red eyes…I _will_ meet him. I have to report everything about him to your father. Since we will eventually kill him, I would like to know him." He glanced at me to read my expression. I knew he was looking for any indication about my resolve to kill Vatu.

I did not give him anything. Instead, I bowed and said, "I will see to it that you two meet." My stomach started tuning into a very thick knot. With the squad I had, I wasn't sure if I could help keep Vatu alive. They were very loyal shadowscales and I did not want to hint that I was not going to kill my friend. My only option was to get my squad to like him. That was the only way I could resolve this. I had to show them the type of Khajiit Vatu was. He wasn't just an animal to be killed, he was a person like the rest of us. I hated to say something like that, seeing as I took lives all the time. But this was personal to me. I loved him…I think.

So, I stepped away from him and walked up to the entrance to the town. I could not see the refugees yet but I bet it would not be long before they got here. The path through the Black Marsh was a very slow one. I'm sure we had guides up front that were escorting the refugees through the thick poisonous waters and vegetation as we spoke. I estimated about another hour or so before they'd start coming into the town. I might as well look at all the lodgings while I waited.

I walked around the town, inspecting everything. The men's houses were set up wonderfully. For a refugee camp, we were prepared for this. We didn't have tents set up, we actually set up huts made up of foliage. The buildings that were already here were turned into dining facilities, bathing houses, and infirmaries. With the exclusion of the inn being turned into a nursery and a school, everyone was going to live outside in the huts. Don't get me wrong, the huts were huge. They weren't a single room. We had people out here cutting down trees for wood and then using their giant leaves as a top cover.

I looked up at the sky. Argonia received a lot of rain that was why our trees grew so fanatically. Some people think that we received all the rain Elsweyr is supposed to get…that is why their land is nothing but desert and ours is lush with plants. It could be that, I guess. Or we could just live in the part of the world that received everyone else's water because we're closer to the waterways and Elsweyr is so high off the ground. We didn't know. Honestly, it didn't matter. I don't know why I bothered thinking about things other than my orders. I guess I just don't like being a mindless drone.

So, after an hour of waiting and checking up on my squadmates, I could finally see the first person walking into the city. It was an Altmer wearing chainmail/mithril armor. He had long golden hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and a golden face that matched. His lighter yellow eyes were glaring at me. He noticed me and approached, his hand resting comfortably on the hilt of his weapon. I guess he was just as wary of this alliance as he should be.

I bowed to him as he approached. "Welcome to Gideon. I am Shadowscale Nexa, the leader of Shadow Squad. We are your new teammates starting today."

He nodded to me. "I am Erandur. I am the Troop Leader for Group 4." He looked behind him and said, "I have some refugees, as I'm sure you know. Well…they're all that's really left of the Imperial City, Leyawiin, and Cheydinhal. I know that Group 5 is coming through with the survivors of Anvil, Chorrol, and Bruma."

I squinted my eyes. "What about Bravil?"

He shook his head. "They could not escape. The Aedra burnt down the bridge and then…played with them. They never stood a chance." The disgust in his voice was well pronounced. I could tell he hated everything that these creatures stood for. Good, that meant he'd lead his troops without hesitation.

I looked through the group of refugees that continued to march through the trees. I looked around the group, hoping to see Vatu walk through the thick of the woods. I remembered the rumor that Shadowwraith Tar-Meena said. She had a report that a Khajiit died in battle against the Aedra. Vatu was the only Khajiit mage that I knew about. Either it was him or his sister. It couldn't be anyone else. I already jumped through a portal into the other world to fetch him back once, I did not want to do it again. I had some time that I owed to Sithis for entering the world of the dead…and while he was a good lord to serve, he was not a good lord to hold favors for. His favors came with a steep price and I was sure to feel it later.

I saw that the Altmer was looking at me. He looked like he was scanning my eyes for some clue as to what I was thinking. When he noticed that my eyes were drifting over to him again, he said, "So, what are our orders?"

I nodded to him. "First off, I want to know. Did Vatu survive?"

He stood there, almost completely shocked. Then, he nodded his head. "Yeah…he's still with us. He's bringing up the rear with Primrose, and I hope that the rear of the formation is the only rear he's bringing up." He said, raising his eyebrows at me.

His little message brought up so many questions and answers. I could not tell if he was joking or purposely telling me something. I decided to ask him to clarify. "Is that a hint to Vatu dating this…Primrose?"

Erandur shrugged. "We can't tell but they are very close ever since he woke up from his second coma. If you're the Argonian I've heard about…I thought I'd just let you know what to expect." He looked at me like he was expecting an answer.

"I am most likely the Argonian you've heard about." I answered him. I bowed. "Thank you for preparing me for possible heartbreak. Your orders…help the refugees settle in." I pointed to Ram-ku. "The men of the group are going to report to the Argonian over there." I pointed to Meesei. "The females are reporting over to her." Then I pointed back to Shadowmaster. "All the children are reporting over to him. But before we can do any of that…we have a preliminary scan." I waved Oleeme and Vistha over to me.

Erandur looked them over. "What are they going to do?"

I smiled. "Vistha is going to assemble any potential warriors and get them ready for the hike to Helstrom. Oleeme is going to do the same, but with any strong mages he senses among the group."

Erandur nodded. "That is a solid plan. I can see you've given this a lot of thought."

I nodded. "Although it is not my plan, I would have considered similar methods." I looked back at Oleeme and said, "Start your scan. Bring any mages you find to Shadowmaster for briefing." I looked over at Vistha. "Same with you, Vistha. Once Oleeme is finished with his scan, find any people worthy of fighting."

My squad nodded and fanned out. I looked around. The refugees were just now walking into the field. There were a lot more than I could have guessed. Of course, this was only Cyrodiil. Imperial groups were directing more refugees in every day, but it was not going to be my role to just sit here and watch them all. No, the refugees were now in charge of welcoming the new ones into their camp. Once this town filled up, the camp was going to be expanded somewhere else close by. We had some clear fields already being set up just for these purposes.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Next chapter should be something interesting. Not sure what I'll do for it, though._


	5. Ch 5: The decision

**Cearbhail:**_ Hmm... everything takes place within the War Room. Trust me, it may look like it's happening somewhere else later on, but it all happens around the small table with the illusionist projection thingy. Also trying to introduce some humor to keep it a little lighter and not so dark. Hope it goes well._

* * *

_"Warlord…everything is going according to schedule. The refugees are settling in, all capable fighters and mages are being transported over to Helstrom, and I can see that Khajiit that you want me to keep an eye on."_

I mentally nodded as I heard Julanza's telepathic message. As discretely as possible, I brought my left claw up to my head and made it look like I was just losing my patience as I placed a single talon on my forehead. _"That's good news, Julanza. Remember, we have to keep him alive long enough to kill all the Thalmor. Then...kill him and anyone else that you see fit. Do not forget our ultimate plans."_

_"Of course not, milord. I know my duty as well as any shadowmaster."_ He replied back.

I smiled as I started contemplating the situation that was developing. The entire nation of Tamriel was in a state of emergency. Leaders of all kinds have either died or gone into hiding. Cities have fallen into chaos and armies have been stretched out so thin that they are not effective anymore. That was every nation…but true Argonia. In all effect, the warriors of Black Marsh had been out to collect data on every city, every ruler, that they could.

When Saliith shadowported into the war room with news that the Fighters Guild in Cyrodiil was destroyed…I was happy. When Tar-Meena had reported that the Arcane University had been leveled…I laughed. When I learned that the all the leaders of all the countries were coming here to unite under the threat of the Aedra…I plotted. For near 200 years we've plotted this day. Our army was strong now, and the other nations were weak. If I wanted to do it, I could have everyone in this room die by poisoning. I'm immune to xianxing gas. Xianxing is a plant found in Black Marsh. It's a carnivorous plant that eats insects and smaller animals. The gas it releases to capture prey is very deadly to everyone…except Argonians. Once this war was over….everyone in this room died. The primary reason I wanted the Mane here was to kill the leader of Elsweyr…but he trusts me as much as I would give him credit for.

But I did have the leader of the Blades, the secret society of knights who protect the emperor, here in this room with me. The thought of seeing him choke on painful but quick killing gas made my mouth water like I was preparing to hunt for lunch. If killed him, it might weaken the rest of his little sword-swinging buddies. I also had the single strongest magically enchanted woman in this room. The Arch-Mage was a strong position to hold for oneself. She could command hundreds of mages to conduct war…as well as battlemages who reported to her and not the emperor. Her one single wish can invite trouble to anyone who gets in her way. If I killed her…I might feel the repercussion…unless all the mages were somehow…dead…like they are now. Now all I had to do was get rid of all the battlemages and I was set.

I glanced up at my newest 'buddy': the Councilor from the Aldmeri Dominion. What the heck was that anyway? The Aldmeri Dominion? This was the first time I've ever heard of this…government. That…organization just seemed to pop up overnight. I had no intelligence on what they believed, what they hoped to achieve, or anything else like that. But I knew a corrupt agency when I saw one. They were out for the same blood I was. I could see it in his eye as the Altmer glanced around the room. He wanted this room for himself. The way he looked around at everyone told me that he was also planning on killing us as well. He wanted me dead as much as I wanted him dead.

I glanced down at the map, happy to see that the refugees were fully settled in. I brought my hand into the map and double-tapped on where my daughter was. The image on the map enlarged, bringing the image of my daughter standing in a blue-tinted light. She was giving orders to her squad, nodding to someone as he walked into the screen. It was a Khajiit. This was it…the Khajiit I heard about? He was about my daughter's age…only sixteen or so. He was a head shorter than her, but I could see the strength of his spirit. I could see how such a character had created such an impact.

I remembered the intelligence reports I heard about the Battle of Fanacas. According to all reports from all Daedra that we interrogated…all the liches we talked to…all the seers we could pay off…this…thing. This…kitten single-handedly defeated most of the Aedra and used his own magic to hold every single survivor still as everyone else pelted the remaining Aedra with magical bullets.

I wanted to see every fur on his body; I wanted to witness all his fighting moves. I wanted to know every single thing that I could about this cat. Looking at him now, I could see a very strong threat against Argonia. He was close enough to my daughter that she would turn against her own nation to help the prisoners escape. Whether she says that she's innocent or not, I know she's guilty. I know how she thinks. I may not have stood over her and babied her like her mother wanted…I still made sure to know how her studies were going.

I wonder when she changed her mind. I wonder when she decided to betray me…or to betray our nation. She knew the punishment for betrayal. She knew the punishment for any delay, any hesitation of action. When she knew that this Khajiit was a freak…she should have killed it. Why? There had to be something very special about this freak to keep her from doing it. I wonder if this cat has any redeeming factors to keep me from ordering his death. I wonder…if I met him myself, would I begin to hesitate as well? Well…there was only one way to find out.

I looked over at Ri'Saddo. He glanced up at me, already knowing what I wanted to ask. "Do you recognize his stripe patterns? Do you know what tribe he's from?"

Ri'Saddo smiled. "Why would Ri'Saddo tell you?" His face revealed to me that he knew almost everything about the Khajiit cub on the magical scrying device. There was no hint of what he knew, however, only that he seemed to respect the cub hovering only inches away.

I smiled. "It's for the consideration of the group. If this cub is somehow special…as all the intelligence reports seem to point to…then I should wonder if any other members of his tribe are also…special." I slithered the last word off my tongue, hoping it sounded both menacing and convincing.

Councilor Fiirnar paced around the map, his hands folded behind his back. He looked very calm in his long leather overcoat, looking down at the scene like it was something that mildly amused him. He watched as Ri'Saddo and I went back and forth, trying to get the other to fold. I could see that he wanted to know as much as I did.

Fiirnar smiled as he leant down to look at the image. "Well…just think about it. This cub has the power to unleash all sorts of oblivion on our enemy. He almost killed off the entire invading army of Aedra by himself. Sure…he almost died in the process, but he looks just fine right now. So…what if we had more? We could change this war to our advantage and just kill all the Aedra…" He dismissed the map with a non-committal backhand. "Instead of looking for some mythical device that supposedly exists within some ruin, that we only know about because of my astral dream cooked up by this very same cub." He looked over at the Arch-Mage when he said that.

Sosia's eyes lifted up. "Oh? You question Commander Hans' judgment? Do you want me to invite him inside so you can say that to his face? I'm sure he'd love to teach you about how he judges people. We did a back-up search, you know. We found many of Mannimarco's old laboratories. He did create this device. He references it a lot of times in his related research about black soul gems. We also know that it does exist within Elsweyr. Back when the land was plush and full of plants. This device sucked up so much life to activate the first time that it killed all the plants within the radius. This time…we don't know what we're going to do to activate it."

I shrugged. That was a great statement. She had all her planning layered. First we find the device, and then we worry about using it. Until then, we only had to stall our invading enemy. It was more reason to flush out any remaining blood-raging cats. If I did this right, I could get all them killed and everyone one else within this room. Once everyone was out of the way, my troops will act all at once and take the land for ourselves. My plan was foolproof as long as…

I looked over at Councilor Fiirnar. He was glancing up at me, his face pulling into a sneer. He knew what I was thinking. He had to die soon, before whatever he plans could be accomplished. There was something wrong about him, about this Aldmeri Dominion. It sent chills down my spine and that does not happen often.

I looked back over to Ri'Saddo. "So, this cub. What do you know about him? We cannot just sit here and argue. We need to act. If there are more of you 'special' Khajiits out there, we need to know now."

Ri'Saddo shrugged and looked away, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. "I already told you…there is no way to know for certain without tasting his blood. All I can tell you is that one of our heroes has the same markings upon his head. You were correct, our stripes do form into clan markings, it's what allows us to tell each other apart in battle, other than our scent of course. The hero who looks the same lived back during the Ayleid War. His name was Ri'dato. He was…what we call…a Sengar. A blessed warrior of Alkosh. A fierce breed of warriors who can break their limiters and go berserk. If this cub can do the same, he must be of the same blood as Ri'dato."

I looked down at the small cub talking to my daughter. I activated her transmitter and just sat back. It was about time I knew what they were talking about.

"How's your sister, Vatu?" My daughter asked.

"She is fine. She's still with us, over there with the other children." He indicated with his head.

Nexa nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry I tried to kill her and your friends when they escaped our prison hold."

Vatu shrugged. "You have your duties, we all have ours. But…you were right. We're finally working together, just like you thought we would."

What? My daughter hinted that someday that the two of them would fight on the same team? That would never have happened if Tamriel wasn't in the state it was in now. I was going to kill her if she ever returned back in shame. I knew she knew that.

Sosia leaned back and crossed her arms. "Zeelius, why are you spying on their conversation?"

I leveled with her. "She's my daughter…that is a boy…around her age. Do you think I'm not going to sit here and not listen to their little flirting?"

She arched her eyebrows. "What flirting? They're teammates. She's just coordinating with him…"

"So… I hear you're with Primrose now. Vatu? Are you two involved?" Everyone in the room looked down at the image of Nexa crossing her arms and leaning back on one leg.

Sosia sat down and quietly clamped her mouth shut. She looked at Nexa's stance. "Oh…she's pissed. Does anyone have popcorn?" She smiled as she readjusted in her seat. "This might be more exciting than any battlefront at the moment."

Vatu spread his arms out. "What? Um…no…not really. I mean, she loves me and I don't know where I stand with her right now."

Sosia exhaled with disgust and shook her head. "Wrong thing to say…wrong thing."

I could see Nexa shift stances. Good, her blood was boiling. Do what you do best, Nexa…beat him up.

She only shrugged. "I brought you back to life…and you leave me for her?" She shook her head. "No…it's fine. I already stated that I was ok with your union. Just…don't expect me to keep you alive when you need it most."

Yes, she was resolved to kill him now. And if I knew my daughter, she'd kill his new girlfriend too.

"I'm not unioned with anyone." The Vatu said, throwing his arms down. "I'm not involved; not with _you_…not with her…not with Davilia, or Crassi, or anyone else."

Councilor Fiirnar smiled. "I'm starting to like this cub already. I say…if we keep spying on him like this, I might just start to respect the Khajiit race. So…can me make this a regular thing? Spying on him and his 'love' life?"

I looked around the room. Everyone was nodding, even Sosia, who should have been pissed at the idea of spying on one of her mages. Instead, she seemed the most excited. "Spy on my adopted son as he find love? Oblivion yes!"

I leaned back in my chair. "This this court has just made our first joint decision. We will continue spying on this couple until they either find love or kill each other. It will probably be the only entertainment we will get out of this entire war."

With that, we all stood up and shut down the screen. We were done for the night. No one was doing anything until tomorrow anyway.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: I hope everyone enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought about it._


	6. Ch 6: Typical Reunion

**Cearbhail:**_ Oh my God...this took me so long to even do. I...I..._

_I wish I could write this story better. I wish I had at least some idea what the heck I wanted to do with it. Well, there's so much that I do want to do with it, but it's this filler space that I have to contend with.. and then there's the character development, showing the individual characters within the squad becoming more than just mindless drones, the whole warfront, and everything else in between. This becomes a very complete book if I do everything right, but it's just this part of the story that I have no clues for. Beginnings suck, and so do endings, but everything else in between is fine. I just need to get past this shabla beginning._

* * *

-Nexa-

This was not how I planned to reacquaint with Vatu. I did not expect him to be involved with the Bosmer I saw save his life. Well…I can't blame him. I wish that I could blame him and her for anything…but it was just as much my fault as theirs. I had known that any hesitation I had for expressing myself to Vatu would in fact lead to someone else falling in love with him. If I had just allowed myself to just…well…openly like Vatu, it would have led to a much different story. Well…maybe. I did not spend a lot of time with Vatu, not openly discussed time, but we did spend enough time to get to know each other.

None of that mattered at the moment. What mattered was the Khajiit standing in front of me now. Standing in front of me was a set of semi-upset/suspicious amber eyes. Along with those eyes was a frown filled with pointy fangs. A bright orange tail with a white tip flicked angrily. Clenched fists shook at the sides, clenching fur just to keep themselves busy. This was not a side of Vatu that I saw often. I never saw him angry before.

"Vatu…" I started. I took notice to the transmitter on my shoulder and knew that I had to keep everything I said secret. I opened my mind and started a telepathic link to him. _Vatu…I'm sorry. I cannot openly discuss anything with you. We are being watched._

Vatu nodded. _Nexa…I heard from Nisha that you did not try to kill her, but the other way around. I'm guessing you said otherwise because you're being spied upon?_

I smiled. I sure hoped Vatu would understand my hint. Earlier, when I knew that I was being watched by my father, I had to start off our conversation with a fake statement that I had tried to kill Nisha and openly apologizing. It would help clear my name for now. It would make my later betrayal that much easier. Well…if I decided to betray my nation. I knew I had orders to kill him, but if those orders were never enforced, there would be nothing to betray. I wish I had a way of making it so that I never had to choose between Vatu and Argonia.

I smiled at Vatu and nodded, saying, "Right, Battlemage Vatu." I felt the transmitter click off. Well, let's just say I had a special little spell attached to the device. While I was being spied upon by my father, I could feel it activating. When it turned off, I knew my father was done listening to me. I just know that he was listening to what I had to say to Vatu just to see if I was conspiring against him. I wasn't sure if he was still watching me, but he at least wasn't listening to me anymore.

I pulled Vatu in for a hug. "Ok, we're at least not being listened to now. So…how's everyone? How's Nisha, Jurard, or even that older Khajiit?"

Vatu smiled. "Oh? Did you make some friends, Nexa?" He shrugged. "They are fine. The older Khajiit died in the battle of Fanacas. He was resurrected as a lich. I haven't seen him since the battle. He left on some mission to go find his skin." He sighed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Jurard was actually in the battle and she's currently reporting to Hans, who is at Fort Grief. He's taken up the station as the war coordinator. He's sending seers go out and scan for the hidden ruins. According to Erandur, we're having this blind seer join our ranks soon. Some protégé girl. We're meeting up with her in Cheydinhal before we march into Elsweyr. We'll see just how good she is."

We were meeting up with another new person? I sighed as I looked at my squad. They were sitting down and relaxing now that our original mission had been completed. I looked over at Vatu and said, "Ok, so I've met your friends, so now…you're going to meet my squad. Which works out because my Shadowmaster wants to talk to you." I pulled him close. "You better be on your best behavior. They _know_ what you are and they are not as nice as I am. If you act up, they _will_ kill you."

I held Vatu close, searching his eyes. He looked a little stunned but nodded. "Ok, so you're telling me that your squad of Argonian assassins wants to kill me? Got it." He walked past me, starting to walk over to my squad. "Ok…let's get this over with."

I jogged to catch up with him, making sure that I could get in front of him in case anyone decided to juts kill him now, even though I had orders to keep him alive until the end of the war. My father felt it was necessary to keep a war machine alive when our world was outmatched and outnumbered. We would be destroyed without someone like Vatu fighting for us. The only bad thing about a war machine like Vatu is that when the war was over, he became a threat to our nation. My father was planning on taking over all of Tamriel once this war was finished and having Vatu become our enemy was enough of threat that he had to be killed immediately.

There was only one downside to trying to kill a war machine like Vatu. If you failed…you just made an enemy. Once my squad betrays Vatu and they try to kill him, every single one of them will be slain by him with little to no hesitation. Vatu already knows what to expect, so I doubt that he will be letting his guard down anytime soon. And since I'm a friend, he'd never try to kill me. I was safe, at least (not like I needed it, though). I know I still had one edge over Vatu: he'd hesitate in finishing me off. If I was worried that he would kill me, I wouldn't. I don't think it would ever come to that, though. No, he cared too deeply for me, even if he has fallen in love with the elf instead of me.

I forced Vatu to come to a stop as we approached the table. He looked confused for a second, but a nod from me with sharp eyes told him everything he needed to know. _We will do this cautiously. We will start with just one person and get some questions answered now. They might bulrush you with their hatred of Khajiits if we just walk into their trap. They may look at ease, but I can taste their collective anger pouring through their scales. If we take this one step at a time, it will be easier. I know who we will start off with._

Vatu nodded his answer to me, telling me that he was ready for whatever was going to happen next. I could not help but feel in admiration over Vatu's ability to just accept everything as it was. Nothing seemed to faze him. I liked that about him. I wish more of my people could have been like that, but like I said earlier: we lived in the shadows. We could not risk lowering our guard for anyone.

I turned around and stepped just a little ahead of Vatu. I waved him to follow me and we slowly advanced to the table. The table quickly became silent, the shadowscales leaning back in their chairs, cautiously reaching for their forearm blades. They tried to look as relaxed as they could, but I knew what to look for. Their eyes were wide and alert, although they refused to make eye contact with either me or Vatu. I guess they thought that I was already betraying them, although it could have just been the fact that I was showing up with a known blood-rager.

As we came up to Nakuma, the first one I wished Vatu to meet, I nodded a welcome for her to come join us in a conversation. She looked around for a second; unsure whether she should leave the rest of the squad to come talk to me. But, I guess my stare won her over, because she excused herself and left the table to come walk up to me. I started stepping away with Nakuma, but as I turned my gaze away from the table, I caught one last glance at Shadowmaster Julanza. He looked at me and then, my eyes looked away.

As soon as I turned around, Julanza was right in front of me; his massive form only inches away. His eyes bore into mine. He nodded to me and then looked over to Vatu. He looked him over before nodding approvingly. "Greetings, young Khajiit. Am I correct in assuming that you are the blood-rager that we have heard so much about?" He looked over at for me for that confirmation.

I guess Vatu would not be so easily threatened or intimidated by Julanza, though. He merely nodded and said, "Yes, I'm a Sengar: a warrior of Alkosh." He smiled. "My eyes turn red, my fur stands on end, and I become so fast and strong that I was able to kill hundreds of Aedra in one sitting. I saved a lot of my friends by doing so." He finished by resting his hands behind his head, smiling at Julanza like he was talking to a friend.

Julanza didn't reply to Vatu, only looking at him for a few seconds. He looked over at me and said, "I presume Shadowscale Nexa has informed you that we are watching you, correct?"

Vatu faked looking confused. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was being genuine. "No? Why? What are you watching for?"

Julanza seemed to smile though his mask. I could see the amusement in his eyes. "You cannot lie to a master of Illusion magic, young Khajiit. No, I can see that you know that we are ordered to kill you later on." Julanza walked past Vatu and patted him on the shoulder. "Relax, though. That's not until later…after this war is over." He looked over at me and said, "And who knows…Warlord Zeelius might not even issue the order. A lot can happen that may change his mind."

Oh boy, I wish my father was that kind-hearted, but I knew such a thing was impossible for him. No, my father's hatred of Khajiits, especially blood-ragers, was so strong that he wouldn't ever pass up the opportunity to kill one if he had the chance.

Vatu smiled at Julanza and said, "I don't know why you're telling me that you're going to kill me. Don't you think that it would be a bad idea to tell someone that you're going to kill them? I mean, I am a apart of this unit, filled with skilled mages. Don't you think that if they found out that you're going to kill me, that they won't just kill you instead?"

Julanza smiled. "I heard enough of your conversation with Nexa to know one fact: Primrose. I can kill her with a blink of an eye…just enough time before any of your friends can commit any attack. Oh…and I'm stronger than any fighter here, even your precious Hans the Hardy." He turned around and started for the table to join the rest of the squad. "Think about it, cub. If I let you know now, it will give you a chance to make us _like_ you. I do not wish to spread anymore blood than is necessary. I, for one, have never agreed with our blood feud, but I will kill you if my Warlord demands it. Besides, letting you know about our arrangement and what I know about your little elf friend…will ensure that when the deed needs to be done, that you will comply. Blackmail is insurance, my furry little friend."

I exhaled and grabbed my head in frustration. Why did Julanza have to do that? I guess he was just being as honest as he usually was. He thought that the best policy was to be blunt and unmovable. If he just said what needed to be said, then there were no problems. Honestly, letting Vatu know that we were planning on killing him really did make it easier on us. Now that Shadowmaster threw the elf, Primrose, into the whole murder thing, it would make Vatu very jumpy and probably compliant. I know that he cared enough for the elf that he would die for her. Heck, if Julanza put a knife to my throat, Vatu would probably die for me too. He'd pretty much die for anyone, I think. He's just that type of guy.

I brought my attention back to Nakuma, probably the only person in my squad that I trusted meeting Vatu. I nodded to her and said, "Right…now that we've gotten everything out in the open, I wish to bring Vatu into our squad so that…you all get to know him. I thought I'd start with you, Nakuma. You seem…gentle."

I looked over at Vatu and said, "Are you ok with answering any questions she has?"

Vatu shrugged. "Well…sure. I guess it won't matter since everyone's trying to kill me these days anyway."

I looked over at Nakuma, seeing her bright face flush as she tried not to laugh at Vatu's joke. She brushed her light link feathers away from her eyes and looked away. "Right…" She looked over at me and bowed. "Ma'am…do I really have to…converse with him?"

I sighed and looked away. "Not if you're not ok with it. Since we're tasked with protecting him until…well…we're told otherwise, I thought he'd just join our squad. He's a member of our team and just like everyone else, he's a part of our family."

Nakuma sighed some relief. "Thank you." She bowed to me and stepped away. "It's not that I don't like Khajiits…it's that I just don't like socializing."

As she walked away, I was forced to cross my arms and look over at Vatu. I nodded to him and said, "That went better than you could have hoped for."

Vatu was looking over at Shadowmaster Julanza, who was glaring right back. I could see Vatu's eyes straining on the verge of turning red. "That lizard just threatened my friend, Primrose…" I could see his fangs sharpen. "Does he want to find out just how deadly I really am?"

I casually stepped in front of Vatu and pulled him in for a tight hug. I held him close and put just enough pressure to make sure that he knew that I had a knife pressed against his spine. "Feel that, Vatu? That's friendship…a _knife_…in your back. This is as great a present as you're going to get from any Argonian in this squad. I'm the only one who cares about you…or anyone else in this company. If you allow your temper to take over you, you will prove Julanza that you are just a mindless beast. He _wants_ you to show him that you won't get mad over threats. He _wants_ you just show him that you're not just a killer. He wants you to show my father that you're a being…and not one that just kills things to get a result. If you accomplish the impossible, _we_ might just make it out of here alive."

I pulled the knife away and released Vatu from my hug. "If you calm down, you won't have to worry about anyone getting hurt. And I promise, the moment that we're ordered to kill you…I'll let you know ahead of time."

Vatu seemed to scoff. "Gee, thanks. I feel so much better now."

I could only shrug in reply. Hey, I couldn't lie to him, not now.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: T_T ... I have no idea what to do now..._


	7. Ch 7: Sleep Deprivation

**Cearbhail:**_ Ok, did a new chapter, finally. This one turned out pretty good. Hope you enjoy it._

* * *

-Warlord Zeelius-

I was comfortable. My bed was nice and warm; my sheets were soft on my scales. I may be the most influential Argonian in all of Black Marsh, not including our silent queen, but even I needed rest and even enjoyed the tiniest bit of comfort and relaxation. As my thoughts started to pull me awake, I started to realize that I should still be asleep. So, why was I waking up?

I started an immediate scan of the room without opening my eyes. I long learned to remain in a sleep-like state while being conscious. I started by slowing my breath to almost a complete halt so I could focus on hearing every slight movement inside my room. Could it be that someone was attempting to murder me in my own room? It could be that easy. No one has ever been within our borders so an assassination attempt was long overdue. This could be my one chance to prove that Argonians were strong even when we're at our weakest. I could feel my blood begin to boil with excitement at the thought of killing my first assassin. I always issued shadowscales out to kill my enemies, but I never had a chance to kill another enemy's assassin. I relished the thought deeper at snapping a neck.

I began focusing on my ears, trying to take in every little detail. I could barely hear my own breathing, but I could hear the rain tapping gently against the water in the lake that we were under. I could hear the room creaking from the waves crashing against our roof. This entire building, heck…all of our important buildings, was submerged underwater. It was a failsafe. Argonians can breathe underwater, others cannot. If we were ever invaded and our building compromised, we'd just lock all the doors and flood the building. Even if they could use some Waterbreathing spell, we'd still outlast them.

I strained my ears and my breathing for over a minute, but did not detect any sounds of someone breathing, moving, or anything. It just sounded like the storm was down upon us. Which could only mean that I woke up because of the storm. But…why did I continue to feel like someone was watching me?

I allowed myself to relax further, not allowing my eyes to open. I was not ready for my possible assailant to know that I was awake. I focused on my nose, trying to smell something. I only smelled fear, my own it seemed. I may have mistaken my rise in blood pressure as excitement when it could have been driven by fear instead. As I prepared to open my eyes, I mentally prepared my hands for a blast of lightning. I opened my eyes and at the same time, rolled out of bed.

I landed on the floor, rolling to the other side. I reached for my concealed blade and spun around, scanning my room. It was dark, just as dark as I liked. I flicked my hand, shooting tiny blade of fire at my torches. The fire landed appropriately, lighting the room up instantly. I scanned the room again. There was still no sign of any intrusion. It could have been the Dark Brotherhood, but since I've supplied them with shadowscales for so long…they would not turn on me.

I stood up, shaking my nightgown to refit on my body. Having scales was a curse some days, especially when it came to simple cloth. The cloth gets stuck on scales and gets tears in it from any spikes. I was covered in spikes. I kept them dulled down just enough so that I would not put holes in my clothes, but that did not keep it from sliding up when I crouch and roll around.

There was something still bothering me, though. I could not shake it, but now that I was awake, I could tell that someone was attempting to connect to me mentally. I sighed as I crawled back into my bed. If I was going to disappear into an astral realm, I might as well be as comfortable as I could be. I grabbed onto my summon button and pushed it. Almost instantly, two shadowmasters teleported into my room.

"Sir, you summoned us?" Shadowmaster Yuvenni asked as she kneeled in a bow.

I nodded. "I am being summoned for an astral conference. You two will stay here and watch my body while I wander."

She nodded. "Understood, Warlord."

I closed my eyes, confident that my guards were strong enough to keep my body safe until I returned. I took the mental strand connected to my brain and pulled on it. I found my soul being pulled from my body as the mental rope started pulling away. I was being pulled into the astral realm. I wondered who wanted to chat. Maybe someone was going to attempt an assassination while I was outside my body. That would be a fun challenge.

A bright light blinded me so I closed my eyes and allowed the world to settle around me. I could feel the slight cool damp air on my scales as I opened my eyes. I was surrounded in a dark empty void with gray mist flowing around my ankles. Standing five feet away was Shadowmaster Julanza, dressed in his shadowmaster armor. The scaled-down shadowscale armor with the fabrics of the shadowwraith made him look like an evil battlemage, as such…he really was. He could fight with magicka and with his fists. He was the most dangerous Argonian I had; he was also my younger brother.

I nodded to my brother. "Julanza…you woke me up. Why?"

His eyes searched through me and it was a couple minutes before he stepped to the side. "I am ready to send my report on the Khajiit blood-rager."

"And this could not wait six hours?" I asked as I crossed my arms. "Even if you told me, I cannot issue you any further orders except begin training recruits for our counter-resistance. We still have no knowledge on the location of the ruin. Our Khajiit councilman has only begun to have his scouts comb the desert."

My thoughts drifted to our assignment. I could not just let my personal squad just sit down and do nothing. I had to keep them busy somehow. I did not create my special taskforce just train kids the art of swinging swords and shooting bows. I wish I had more to go on, but what else was there on their to-do list?

Julanza supplied my answer. "I overheard the conversation your daughter shared with the Khajiit. They have orders to rendezvous with a seer in Cheydinhal. I suggest we begin our journey to there at once. I overheard from their leader that this seer just came out of nowhere and that this person is some sort of wunderkind. I don't know what this person is a wunderkind to, whether it's magic, fighting, or just seeing. However, I'm curious." Julanza said as he turned away from me. I could sense that he was already becoming tense from this conversation.

"Do you fear that this seer could be a problem?" I asked. Of course, I had to consider the possibilities. A number of things could happen when a seer gets involved. The first thing was our security. Having a seer on our team could expose some of our secrets to that seer. My great plan to take over the world may become evident and the seer may do something to stop my ambition. But the benefits could include detecting traps and ambushes early, as well as finding our objectives that much easier. I could not pass up the opportunity to get this war finished as fast as possible.

Julanza visibly shrugged. "I do not yet know. A seer can see whatever they want. The stronger the seer, the less things that can be hidden from them. If this seer is a prodigy like they believe, our palace may not be hidden from it. This does not bother me, but it should bother you…considering your future plans. I am eager to meet this prophet in the hopes of beginning our own scouting mission to find this palace."

I began nodding to Julanza, beginning to see his point. It was just as I thought. My brother was a more of an actor while I was the thinker. He acted on his guts, while I contemplated my resources and formed a reasonable plan based on my known facts and pondered assumptions and worse-case scenarios. I finally dismissed it with a wave of my claw. "You may do what you wish with your information. If you feel it is worth leaving now, do so immediately. If you wish to overlook the training of the new recruits, you may do so as you please."

He nodded back. "Understood, sir. We'll be leaving at dawn then, with our without our new guests. I do wish to give you my report on the Khajiit now."

I let a sigh of annoyance escape my mouth. I did not care enough about that cat to have my sleep interrupted by him. I guess Julanza really had something to say if he thought it was important. "Fine, but make it quick."

"The subject has a tendency to be nonchalant and quick to anger. His outward expression is regarded in a constant state of guard. He never lowers it, not even for his closest friends or his sister. After considerable time to watch him and listen to him talk, I found out that he has a Bosmer that has a crush on him. I already stated that I plan on killing him later and if he at any time tries to interfere that I will kill the girl with a blink of my eye."

I stared up at Julanza. "You did what? You told him about your true intention?"

"Yes." Julanza nodded.

I shook my head. Oh, this was just perfect! Now, the only living threat to Argonia knows that we're going to kill him. Add that to the group of battlemages already within our borders, as well as their guild's leader right under our roof…we're fucked. Not to mention that seer that's one their way over. If something went wrong, we're dead.

I looked over at Julanza and said, "Very bold move, Shadowmaster. Why?" I hissed out. I wanted him to know I was displeased. I could not tell if he was affected by my ire. He'd better be.

Instead Julanza stepped forward. "The reason is simple: cooperation. Given the relationship between your daughter and this Khajiit, one that looks more intimate than teammates, I fear that she may have already warned him about the execution, which he showed me that he did when he smiled and said that he had no clue as to our true orders. By using the promise that his friend dies if he does not cooperate or warn anyone…we're assured that he will not create a problem to us."

I allowed myself to breathe before I commented on his brief. "Ok…" I said, turning to face him again. "How did he take the news?"

"At the beginning, he hinted to alerting his friends at our mission. After telling him in precise detail of how fast and how accurately I can dispose of his friends…all of them…he started to become defensive. When I left, he was on the verge of changing over, but something Nexa did kept him at bay. I believe her hug made him relax, although she had her dagger ready. That told me that she was prepared to kill him to protect us." Julanza's eyes were sparkling with pride. "I'm glad to see that she remembers her studies of offering support and a quick death at the same time."

I nodded in reply. "Yes, valuable lessons. Nexa still thinks that you're more of her father then I am. I suggest you use that relationship to make sure she stays on our side. I fear that Nexa may betray us again and if she does…well…you know your duty."

Julanza hesitated for the briefest of seconds, but he bowed down to me. "It will be done, Warlord. Is there, by chance, that we may spare this Khajiit, though?"

I stopped in my tracks and any comment. I just opted to stare at him in bewilderment. "What?"

Julanza shrugged. "You only meant to kill this Khajiit if he becomes a threat. If you are right and this cub is in fact part of something bigger, something scarier than any blood-rager we've ever faced, then why would we make it an enemy? Others might come and resolve our mistake. We might make an enemy far stronger than Argonia is prepared to face."

I nodded. "It is true. But…remember this. Eventually, everyone in our war room will die. The guild master for his guild…will die. His precious company will be reduced to nothing. We will take over all of Tamriel. When that happens…do you want that cat to be alive?"

Julanza bowed deeper. "I understand, Warlord. I will comply when you order me to."

I nodded back. "Thank you for the update and keep them coming…just not at two in the morning. Wait for sunbreak at least."

I dismissed the astral plane session and was immediately thrown into my body. I hit so hard that I fell out of my bed. I opened my eyes, happy to see that Shadowmaster Yuvenni was still waiting by the door with Shadowmaster Gizee waiting on the other side. The room was as silent as it ever was. Good, maybe I could get some sleep before my duties began.

I nodded to Gizee and said, "You two may leave now. I wish to rest."

Gizee and Yuvenni both bowed before shadowporting out of the room. I crawled into my bed and pulled the sheets up. I felt so tired that I could drift off for another six hours. I needed all the rest I could get if I was to mentally prepare myself for another war room meeting today. I closed my eyes, allowing myself to drift off.

"Warlord! You're needed in the War Room." I shadowscale said as he knocked on my door.

My eyes snapped open. I looked at the clock, seeing that I was an hour late to our daily meetings. Great…I just sullied our nation's name by being late to my own party. What could possibly happen next?

-Shadowmaster Julanza-

The sun rose quietly through the thick trees of Black Marsh. I have been all over Tamriel, from Summerset Isles to Skyrim to Morrowind. I've seen everything that there is to see. I've seen the River of Magicka; an ever flowing lay line that flowed like a river. The magicka poured in the most beautiful combination of colors that resonated at a state that no one could even begin to compare. I've seen the ancient Dwemer ruins that housed lost and forbidden arts. I've also seen the height of the world, talked to the Graybeards, learned their arts and appreciated the beauty of loud silence. Even with all those sights and studies, I still held one thing closer to me as the loveliest scenery …

The sunrise through the rainbow forest. Only called that by a few Argonians, myself included. It was a section of our forest that we held as a bit of a sacred ground. When the sun rose through the thick transparent leaves, you could see the sun shine through the various colors, creating a lovely scene of multi-colored lights. I don't care what I've seen or what I will see in the future. Seeing the sun rise through the dark purple, red, and green trees was still the most enchanting thing I'll ever see.

I heard someone approaching so I reached out with my magicka-induced third eye. I could feel Nexa approaching so I moved a little to the side as she came up to sit next to me. She sat down, not saying anything, but looking up at the trees with me.

This was an old tradition for the two of us during her training. Ever since she hatched, it was my job to make sure that she ended up as a warrior; a job that I took proudly. Seeing that she made the impossible choice of helping friends over our country was heartbreaking enough, but knowing that she had compassion in her brain and that she listened to her heart filled me with unknown joy. Still…I could not tell her of such things because I was not to support her attempts to betray us. And I would not allow my personal feelings to affect my professional perfection.

I looked down at her, happy to see that she was still smiling at the sunrise, her eyes filled with wonderment at seeing such a beautiful sight. I looked down at her and said, "I have briefed your father on our situation. He has made it clear to me that this is my mission, so…" I said. Nexa looked up at me, her eyes questioning but not daring to ask what was on her mind. "So…we're going to head up to Cheydinhal and find this seer. From there, we're using this person to find the ruins. If this seer is so great, then this war will be over before it gets any worse."

Nexa nodded. She stood up, her face all business now. "Roger, Shadowmaster. I'll brief our squad and the Battlemages' leader before the hour."

She jogged off, leaving me to watch the sunrise alone. I sure hope that she's ready to lead her squad because this was her final test. She had to do the rest on her own from here on out." I stood up and brushed off my cloak. Once we started traveling…I was not coming back.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: So, how did you guys enjoy seeing through Julanza's eyes? Did you expect him to be the way he was or did you expect just another gruff Argonian like Zeelius? Well, Zeelius grew up in the palace and learned that nothing is as it seems, so he grew up paranoid. Then the whole wife getting murdered by a Khajiit blood-rager and you get mister gruffy. Julanza, on the other hand, spent most of the time out on assignments for Black Marsh. When you travel the world, you tend to see things in a different light. As such, he's a little more grounded if not spiritual._


	8. Ch 8: So it begins

**Cearbhail:**_ New chapter, finally. Of course, you probably know that since you're able to read it and well...it wasnt' here before... unless you're reading it again or have started the book after this chapter was created. Either way, congrats you didn't have to wait as long to continue forward. So, anyway. Um... thinking about adopting some of the Chronicles of Lydia story play into this book. By that I mean adopting a sort of randomness and slight off-hand humor. Not sure if this series is suited for it and not sure I can pull it off since this is a dark/war type of story anyway._

_Well, sorry for wasting your precious time with my inward thoughts. Enjoy._

* * *

[Nexa]

It felt weird. The moment when you think you're never leaving your home but then in a blink of an eye, you find yourself outside the walls that you'd grown used to.

I had that moment almost two years ago. Shadowmaster Julanza had always been my instructor. Like I said earlier; I was not trained in the standard academy. I was special. So, when Shadowmaster Julanza had an assignment, I always left with him. But…that was always different. That was me, his apprentice, following him around. I learned both of our shadow arts from him, the shadowscale and the shadowwraith. I was always trained in situational awareness and magical awareness. Always physical combat and spiritual combat. It was never one over the other. If I did one, I had to do the other somehow as well.

Well, it became the fact that whenever I entered a room, I scanned for: exits, people, hidden traps, runes, magicka-casters, and Daedric channels. When meeting someone I scanned for physical weaknesses: such as injured arms, legs; noticeable ticks, limps; and bruises/scars. I also scanned for aura-induced traumas. The slightest difference in someone's aura could cripple someone to the ground with a shock blast. A loose stance with little grounding can become someone's doom with frost magic. And finally, someone who has no magicka ability, just foolhardy bull-rushing, can be toppled over with a wave of fire. Works even better to combine all three magics together. And…for the more…personal fighters, a good ol' fashioned drain/damage health. Just run up and punch them in the arms(in the pressure points, of course). Feed that magic right in there and watch their arm just slump. No more attacking with that arm anymore. Well, long enough to kill him at least.

But, even though I was always training with Julanza, always traveling with him, leaving from one nation to go to the next, I was always happy. I was happy to be with him, even with all his strict training. Even with the surprise lightning shocks to see if I was still alert. He took me to some of the most beautiful sights all around Tamriel and right as I was engulfed with the beauty that surrounded me, he would attack me somehow. The first time, he left a scar on my arm. The second time, a scar on my tail. The third time, I left a scar on his knuckle. He never tried again. In fact, that third time, I was no longer his apprentice. I was ready to be a shadowscale.

So, that day, when I finally left Argonia as my own agent, I felt very small and unprotected. The world suddenly felt so very large, no more scary than it had been when I first left, but just because I was no longer with my master telling me how I should act or how I should complete my objective…I felt weird. I felt overpowered and proud that I was able to venture on my own, collect data, assassinate people on my target book, and report back home anytime I needed to get away. I never considered what I was going to get myself into. I never considered that my first real assignment would end up being a world war.

That small feeling, of when I left the first time was how I felt now. Only, it was different because standing behind me was my squad. I was in charge of them. These were my soldiers whom I was responsible for. If anyone died, it was because I was at fault. I could have been faster, give more concise orders, or perhaps have even prepared a fail-safe plan. That knowledge that the lives of my Argonians were on my hands was what made me feel small and unprotected. It was a totally different feeling of isolation. They could not understand just how I felt about our situation, but that didn't matter. My job was to keep them save, complete our mission, and get everyone home for dinner. Simple.

We were already halfway to Cheydinhal. I could not tell exactly where we were because we were evading all the nearby roads and any camps that we came near. While the battlemages were more than happy to trudge along in their heavy armor, my squad preferred traveling in silence, as did I. These recruits may have gotten by with brute magical force and luck, but we weren't in training anymore and this was not one battle that was won by a blood-raging cat. This was a stealth operation to pick up a new recruit for our giant collection force. Unfortunately, I was very unhappy with the size of this team we had acquired. I wanted it scaled down by maybe 30 people.

Don't get me wrong about why. I'm all for a massive attack force, but this was not a massive attack force operation right now. I had to at least get this team someplace quiet and out of the way and continue on with a scouting team. Yeah, a scouting team. That was more likely to make it to Cheydinhal instead of 30 clanking soldiers.

So, when I finally found a nice secluded spot near a river, a small cave, and plenty a clearing surrounded by large grass, I stopped moving and grabbed Erandur (who was walking beside me). Grabbing him for the first time since our departure stirred a bit of an alarm in his eyes, but to his credit, he looked around quickly before setting his eyes on me, fully intent on what I had noticed that he hadn't.

"TL Erandur, may I offer my tactical appraisal?" I asked as I pulled him away from his troops.

As in on cue, his soldiers all started forming a wide circle, kneeling down in the grass, looking outside their perimeter for any sign of hostiles. The Dunmer, Davilia, followed behind him as well as the Imperial Crassi. A Redguard named Travis walked up as well, followed by Vatu. Every one of them were squad leaders, placed under a squad of three other students. 17 battlemages, one shadowmaster, one shadowblade (me), three shadowscales, and two shadowwraiths. There were 24 of us. Too many for any stealth mission. No, what I had in mind was so much grander.

Erandur nodded quickly, saying, "Of course. I've been meaning to ask you for your opinion anyway." He gestured to his combat force and said, "I'm used to operating in small teams, not a giant platoon."

Huh, maybe this would be easier than I thought. "Well, I was about to suggest just sending a recon team ahead. Max four people."

Erandur nodded. "Good idea. How about two recon teams, instead. In case one gets captured or compromised?"

I shook my head. Man, it was a good thing I was here. He did not understand what recon meant. "No, two teams only makes it more likely to fail. If one team gets compromised, then the other one has to go out of its way to get the other team fixed. No, I suggest only one team. You, me, someone of your picking, and someone of my picking."

He nodded and looked around. He pointed to Travis and said, "Travis, send me your Bosmer scout."

Travis nodded, turned around, and quickly ran through the grass to find his scout. I guessed Erandur was going for an archer, since he was recruiting a Bosmer into the group. If that assumption was correct, I would benefit from getting a true mage. Now, I had two shadowwraiths who would be valuable. Oleeme and Nakuma. Oleeme seemed to be the more collected shadowwraith but Nakuma seemed to be just a little more…wow, I don't even have a word for it. Just different. Not to mention, it would be nice to see just how well she would operate if she had to. I've seen Oleeme's preparedness. He seemed better off if he had a solid plan. Nakuma might just be better suited for on-the-spot stuff. Well, time to find out.

I stepped away, looking for my squad. Shadowmaster Julanza stood at the very tip of a tree, just looking around for any signs of trouble. My three shadowscales took up a triangle formation around the circle that already existed. The only difference was that they were up in trees and not kneeling in the grass. My two shadowwraiths were sitting in the center of the circle formation, pouring over their shadow books, mentally preparing themselves for whatever spells they might have to cast.

"So, we're going on a recon mission. Which one of you am I taking as my spot?" I asked both Oleeme and Nakuma.

Nakuma motioned her book in my face. "I'm still researching black soul gems. Take Oleeme."

Oleeme barely blinked before he glanced up from his book. "I am perfectly capable of joining you. I have no pressing studies that will be hindered by assisting you."

I sighed with slight contempt. I wanted Nakuma to assist me, if not only to see just how well she'd operate under my command. But, I guess I would take Oleeme. I nodded to him and said, "Very well, Oleeme. Please assemble a small bag of everything you need and join up with Erandur and me."

I started to turn around and rejoin Erandur, but Oleeme was already standing up, throwing a small sack over his shoulder. "I am currently prepared for travel." He stated with his calm silky voice. His eyes were slightly glazed over, making me believe that he was already in some sort of hyper trance. Maybe he was a bit of a seer. I did not know, but maybe this mission was a good way to learn a little more about him. He was the biggest mystery of anyone else within the group.

I smiled at the thought of actually bonding with someone that I had no clue about for once. I mean, exactly who was Oleeme? My first impression of him was him levitating in mid-air, eyes blazing white, with several books floating around him, with him reading one at a time while still suspended in flight. That's a pretty strong first impression. Then he follows it up by already telling me what I want to know and assures me that both of them will be prepared for departure. The latter was still unsuccessful, though, but I'm guessing without him Nakuma would have never been prepared to leave.

Oleeme and I joined back up with Erandur and an older Bosmer with dirty shoulder-length hair. He looked mid-twenties. That was weird since almost everyone in the group looked like teenagers. The Bosmer nodded to me and stuck out his hand. "Name's Huir. Been a scout for years. Joined the battlemages to do some good. Then…this war happened. Bad and good luck with that. My farm was gone and I would be gone as well if I had stayed. Bad luck, I lost the farm. Good luck, I wasn't there. Savvy?"

He had a thick sailor's accent. I would have guessed that he was more than just a scout. He seemed to notice my glance and tipped his stray hat to me. "Ah, sorry, forgot that I still have my sea legs. Served on an Alik'r raiding vessel as a navigator and scouting party for a few years. Learned some of the pirating trade that helped me survive this long. Funny thing…I own that farm yet I never seemed to be there. Must have really hated my wife."

Erandur groaned as he rubbed his eyes in annoyance. "Huir! No one asked about your past." He shook his head and bowed to me. "Sorry, Shadowscale Nexa. He's just excited. He's never fought alongside a shadowscale before."

I shook my head and waved it off. "No…it's fine. Honestly, I've never served with the Redguard. How do they do combat?"

Huir smiled and crossed his arms. "Depends on which part of Hammerfell you travel to. Shorelines are pretty much pirates and sea traders. Go up north and you can find the Dark Market; find things like slaves and…illegal goods. Then you have the Imperial side of Redguards. Strong noble warriors, so it's pretty much the same with them that it is for everyone else. Beautiful mountainous area, though. The people there are truly strong and capable warriors."

"By your depiction, I would assume that the Redguard bandits and pirates are the source of all illegal trading and slaving." Oleeme said, narrowing his eyes in quiet thought.

Huir only seemed to smile. "You could assume that. Don't know why that interests you, though."

Oleeme did not comment but continued to hold his chin while his narrowed eyes silently calculated something. I knew what he was calculating. Because I was calculating the same thing. Shadowscales have long been interested in learning more about Hammerfell, but mostly the reports we ever got back were sketchy. We've even sent Shadowmasters to go see Hammerfell but when they returned with their news, it was too broad, not narrow enough for us to make any real sense of. Hammerfell was a great mystery to us, one we wanted to crack. Pirates were one thing for us to handle, since we breathe underwater and can track their movements, but infiltrating slavers is another. Sure, we get some shadowwraiths in as slaves, but then…they never come back. We don't know why.

Erandur rubbed the back of his neck. "Guys…" He said, starting to shake his head. I heard and knew enough about Erandur to know that he wasn't one for joking around. For him, this was a serious assignment and we were doing nothing more than just chatting for no reason. Once he had all our attention, he said, "The four of us are proceeding onward to Cheydinhal to find our seer. She is waiting for us to show up and bring her into the squad. Now…I will be very honest with you. No one even knew she existed until just a week ago, but apparently she's a battlemage. Dresses in the traditional armor too. She's already been briefed and tested by Hans. She's passable. Her name is unknown to us, but she calls herself the Seer so I guess we'll have something to go by. Well, that and the white cloth she covers her eyes with."

I nodded, taking as many mental notes as I could. "Do we know what nationality she is?"

Erandur glanced up at me and shrugged. "Human, most likely Breton. Hans seems to think she's a Nord by some sort of accent that only Skyrim-bred Nords have. The only problems with that theory is that there are no known Nord teenage seers at the moment, let alone ones that serve as battlemages. So, this mystery person has just shown up during a time of war, and seems to be well prepared for it. Hans believes she may be a Psijic monk so be on your best behaviors…and on your best guard."

I actually saw Oleeme's eyes light up for a second. "Psijic monk? They haven't been seen in a long time."

Erandur nodded in reply. "Yes, exactly. If there is a Psijic monk here…that means that this is worse than we feared. But…it could also mean that she's here to keep us in line. We're the main taskforce for finding the black soul gem device that will end this war. She could be here just to make sure we find it and activate it. No one knows, she won't tell anyone anything."

I finally grabbed the top of my head in slight frustration. Erandur was starting to get us worked up over a technicality that could very well just be coincidence. It was no use worrying about it now until we confirm it is in fact a Psijic monk or just a regular seer who has escaped the public news network. I finally looked at Erandur, drawing his attention to me. "It doesn't matter what she is. We still have to find her first."

Erandur nodded to me and said, "Just making sure we're all on the same page here." He looked at me like this was my first time being to a meeting and said, "Have you ever had a briefing before? This is standard information to go through. Identify the target, calculate possible avenues of approach, and evaluate the situation. I just did that. I identified our target as a seer; avenues of approach, just popped out of nowhere; and evaluation, only Psijic monks do that."

I nodded in silence. I wasn't sure if I was ok with how he just talked to me, but I guess he only came off as gruff because I questioned him in a gruff way. I looked at Oleeme, who still looked lost in thought. I could see a sparkle in his eye and a small smile growing on his lips. I think he was excited about the possible meeting of a Psijic monk. Sure, it was something that our kingdom had no information on…in fact, no one did. If this was our one chance to know about them, we had to take it at all costs.

Erandur nodded to us and said, "Allow me to set up our temporary camp and a fall-back spot in case this one gets hit, and also a third fall-back in case that is already compromised…and we'll get going."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Things should start becoming more interesting now. Especially if I decide to randomfy it._


	9. Ch 9: The UnChild is born

**Cearbhail:**_ Alright, a new chapter. Yes, this is going to be a fun one and I'm going to attempt to put some humor in...little at a time. Should start next chapter, but I snuck a little in towards the end. You'll see. Enjoy._

* * *

[Warlord Zeelius]

The war room was especially active today. People were screaming, eyes were glued to the virtual map that was now a giant illusion-casted image. The image was what my newly promoted Shadowblade daughter was sticking her head on the line to record with her crystal ball. Everything we were seeing was happening in real-time. It was happening right now…in Cheydinhal.

Not only was my main task force already surrounding Cheydinhal, but there was a bit of a nasty realization. Vampires. Lots of them too. The image that filled the entire virtual map in front of us was a giant burning city of Cheydinhal. Shadowblade Nexa was standing up on what appeared to be a wall, aiming her special spell 'Recording Eye' at the town. Everything she saw, we saw. And what we saw shook us all to the core.

Vampires were already inside the town. It wasn't some army, just a small group of ten or so. Most of them looked like elves and Imperials, but one could never tell with humans. Could be Nords for all I knew. At least Bretons had pointy ears since they shared elven blood.

The vampires were scouting the city out: finding dead bodies and using necromancy to raise them up into vampire thralls. The surviving citizens screamed out in horror as a vampire would jump on top of them and bite them. Whether they were feeding or just turning, it didn't matter. That person would not live to see the end of the night.

"Hurry up. Our clan needs to become stronger if we are to survive!" A tall buff vampire called. He looked like a Nord, I could tell by his thick accent and burly muscles. He was dressed in blood-red royal clothes adorned with black scaly armor. He looked like a monster.

The image Nexa showed us zoomed in on the vampire. He must have been a vampire lord. _{Orders?}_ She whispered.

I shook my head and whispered back. "Hold. Your objective is not the dead and dying. Your objective is to find your seer. And if she's really stupid enough to stick around where vampires can get her…she's not that good of a seer and is of no use to us anyway."

My daughter held any reply. I can understand her worry. Vampires had a great sense of smell and hearing. If she risked talking any more than she already did…she was dead.

Screams of a little girl filled our screens. Nexa looked away from the vampire lord, seeing a vampire pulling a ten year-old girl from the wreckage of a house by her hair. She screamed and reached up to her hair, trying to pull her hair out of the vampire's hands. The girl looked scared to death, but tried to fight back. She kicked against the vampire's legs, trying to unbalance him. It did not work.

"Lord Harkon! We have a live one here. Breton by the smell of her." The vampire called to the vampire lord, now addressed as Harkon.

Harkon smiled. "Good, a young immortal servant. You have my permission to turn her, my son. Give her the blood of a lord. Give her wings. We need more lords if not only until we survive this war."

The vampire, apparently Harkon's son, smirked. "But Lord Harkon, another vampire lord might be a problem. What if she tries to take your throne? What if she challenges you?"

Harkon dismissed with a wave of his hand. "One little girl poses no threat to me. I am strong, experience, old. She will be weaker than the rest of us, but strong enough to be of use. she will give me more power over the other lords and help me secure my throne."

I turned around to everyone, ignoring the screen. From what I just heard, this vampire was a strong vampire lord who held his own kingdom. We needed something like him on our side. We already had liches, why not vampires too? If only I could get some information on him before I committed to this decision. I did not want to approach a dangerous enemy, I wanted a complacent ally.

"Ok, we need to find out who this guy is and if we can get him to join us in our war." I said to every person inside the room, including the Queen, who watched over us with her usual silent voice. She never spoke unless it was urgent. I sent out a silent ping for my shadowmasters. Two shadow portals ripped open behind me and they dove through. I looked back at them and said, "Dig up whatever information we have on vampires and vampire lords. Look for anything involving Nord vampires and a vampire lord by the name of Harkon. I need to know yesterday."

My shadowmasters nodded and bowed, stepping back into the shadow that they morphed through.

I turned my attention back to the screen, watching in horror as the vampire lord walked up to the little girl, who was still pulling on her hair and screaming in horror, her eyes pulled shut. The other vampire was now starting to sink his teeth into her neck. "Now, now…this will only stick for a second. Then…darkness eternal."

_{Orders?}_ Nexa whispered, her voice pulled tight.

"Hold." I repeated.

_{Father? She's just a little girl.}_ She replied, her voice becoming edgy.

"So were you." I replied back. "You've survived worse."

_{_I_ had training, _I_ was prepared. _I_…never had to fight a vampire before.}_ She started sounding frantic.

"And if you want to change that…there are easily ten of them, all master class, with at least one vampire lord proceeding over them, maybe two if that son of his can transform like in the tales. Let's not forget about all the thralls. Oh yes, if you want to go out and save her, by all means…go die." I almost couldn't control my voice, but instead I cooled myself down before I said anything else. I allowed a quick breath in…and out. I loosened my grip on the edge of the desk and sat back down, relaxing my neck.

"Daughter…" I said, shaking my head. "Remember your training. Wait for the opportune moment. When can you safely get to her?"

_{…after he bites her. He'll be momentarily stunned by the sudden blood-rush. But that is also the worst time to attack him because he'll have recharged his batteries and fully healed.}_ She replied, almost robotic now. Good, I had her thinking instead of reacting now.

Sosia looked over to me, her face expressing her shock. "So we're just going to let this vampire kill her?"

I shook my head. "What would you do, Sosia? Did you not hear him? 'Give her the blood of a lord'. He's not killing her, he's turning her."

Her face did not change one bit. Instead she stood up and screamed, "And that's not a death sentence itself? He's making her _undead_."

I looked away from Sosia back to the screen. The vampire now had a hold in her neck, licking her dry. The girl screamed out in bloody murder, grabbing the head of the vampire in a hopeless attempt to halt him biting her. Blood rolled from her neck, staining her dress. The eyes in her head started rolling back and her arms started becoming limp.

Sosia stood up, slamming her fist onto the table. When she saw the small Breton girl's arms become limp, she pushed up her sleeves and reached for her staff. "Ooh…that's enough. I cannot sit here and watch these children turn into vampires! I'm teleporting down there and saving her life." She said, grabbing her staff.

I rushed up to the Arch-Mage and grabbed her by the shoulder. I pulled her down and said, "Sosia…I know how you feel, but you cannot leave the safety of this room. One brush of their teeth or their magic can infect you with vampirism. If you were to die, your baby would have no parents left."

That brought a tear to the Arch-Mage's eyes. She sat back down, her body shaking with the effort. She looked over to me and blinked back a tear. "Then you order your daughter to save that little girl. If you won't, I will go and save her instead."

I sighed and sat back down. I watched the screen for a few more seconds before I pushed the button on the table. "Shadowblade Nexa…new mission priorities."

…

[Nexa]

_{Rescue that girl and get her healed.}_ My father's voice rung through my receiver.

I smiled as I reached for my faceted sword. It was time I got to do something useful for once. I shuddered at the thought of just letting this girl die, even though she was already bitten. Maybe I could get to her before they finished their turning ceremony. Based on what I read on vampires, and what I saw with Vicente during my stay with the Dark Brotherhood, I knew that the turning process took minutes. I still had time before his blood merged with hers. During that whole time, he could not take his teeth out or his turning process would be rejected by the host body.

I unsheathed my sword and tapped my comms. "Ok, attack on vampire group. Target is little girl. We have to save her."

I reached out, ripping a portal into the shadow-void. I jumped in, being embraced by the shadows. The warm but freezing shadows. I ripped out of the shadows right in front of the vampire attacking the girl. I brought my sword in, missing his head by an inch. That did not matter, I skimmed him. It was enough to get him to break his hold on her. I reached out, grabbed the girl with my right hand, and jumped back into my portal. I felt the shadows pull me away from the scene and I found myself landing gracefully on the branch I sat on before I left.

I watched as Oleeme popped out of his own shadow portal. His eyes lit up with a bright light and he stuck out his hands. Bright balls of artificial sunlight shone over the city. The vampires hissed at him but started to retreat into the town. Erandur and his sniper rounded the corner a second later, Erandur with two katanas out and the archer with his crossbow. The archer started firing away at the vampires, hitting two of them square in the chest. They flew off their feet, crashing into the ground.

I looked down at Harkon. He hissed in complaint, looking around the battlefield. "We have what we came for. We leave now." He looked up at me, right at the girl in my arms. He pointed to me and, just like that, he vanished into a mist of bats that fluttered off into the night. Several other vampires turned into a mist of bats and fluttered off as well. The thralls just vanished into portals summoned to teleport them back.

My squad hung there for a couple seconds before they began to clear the sight. _{Ok, Nexa. It's safe to come down now.}_ Erandur's voice sounded through our comms.

I jumped into a portal, arriving in the middle of my squad's formation. The little girl was still in my arms. Her eyes were glazed over and her lips were pulled into a sick smile that reminded me of skooma addicts. I looked around and said, "Anyone have a cure disease potion?"

"That's…no…disease." I heard a voice call.

I looked away to see the vampire that bit the little girl. He was clinging at the arrow stuck in his chest. Blood that was probably not his rolled from his mouth and he reached up at the arrow in a wasted attempt to pull the arrow out of his stomach. He was pinned against one of the wooden buildings. He was slowly dying. I needed answers.

I rushed up to him and placed my sword to his throat. "Explain." I said.

He smirked wildly and pulled at the arrow. "I'm a pure-blood vampire. What I have and pass on is no disease, but a gift…from Molag Bal. No amount of healing spells and potions can remove a blessing from a Daedric Lord, unless another Daedric Lord blesses her instead. If you wish…you can turn her into a werewolf…" He started laughing, his eyes fading away. "Which is more evil in your eyes? A sophisticated vampire, or an uncontrollable beast?"

"Orders?" I called into the receiver. I hoped my father had some good news for me. I did not want this little girl dying before I own eyes.

The girl started crying as she reached up at nothing in particular. Her nails started sharpening, her teeth elongating and becoming pointy. Her skin tone started to fade away. I looked over to the vampire and said, "How can she be turning already? I thought vampirism took three days to contract!"

The vampire looked at me one last time before smirking. He offered up a weak chuckle. "This is not your typical vampirism…now is it?" With that his eyes blanked out. He was dead.

I looked around at Oleeme. "Quick, you know all sorts of healing spells. Is there one for this?" I asked.

Oleeme calmly bent down to look at her. He stuck his hand out, scanning her energy. "I believe I can fix this." He closed his eyes and his body became shrouded in light. The bright light traveled from his hands and embraced the girl. She started shaking violently, foam pouring out of her mouth. She started levitating from my arms and I could see the back of her dress starting to bulge. Two short wings sprouted from her back and stretched out.

Oleeme's spell exploded, sending him flying backwards as it did so. He landed a few feet away, wiping his head off. "The magic inside her was too strong for me, Shadowblade. I could not save her."

The girl's body started hovering. It floated from me, covered in red magic. Her hair floated up even though it was braided. The unconscious girl floated around to face me, her eyes still shut. I could hear her take in a breath and her eyes snapped open. She looked over at me, her eyes black as the Void, with bright yellow irises, glaring right through me.

I saw her frown. "I saw what you did." She said, her voice very tight. "You tried to save me." She blinked back any tears that were beginning to fall. She hissed at me and she jumped back, grabbing her head in pain. "This urge…I cannot fight it. I need…" She said. The wings stretched out further and she pushed up into the air. "I need…" She said again, looking around. "BLOOD." She screamed to the wind. The voice seemed to roar through the ground and the air. The ground shook and the air started to heat up.

Erandur unsheathed his swords and Huir prepared his crossbow. Once the girl saw them prepare to fight her, all the shaking stopped. The air cooled down again. She drifted down to the ground slowly, keeping us all within her stare. I started to ready my own weapon, which drew her glare to me. "Please…" I started. "We don't want to hurt you if we don't have to."

She looked at me and then at Erandur. She smiled. "I know. Just…stay here, I'll be right back. I just need…a moment to drink something." She took off into the sky faster than any group of bats I saw yet. I saw her fall from the sky momentarily, crashing into a building. She screamed out in minor pain, standing up and brushing her head. "Oww…stupid wings!" She said, taking off again.

Erandur glanced at me and bowed. "Thank you for making her calm. I did not like the idea of killing a girl, even if it was a vampire."

I nodded at the disappearing vampire. "Well, we need all the help we can get and she doesn't seem overly affected by the sudden change, although she might become unsettled and uncontrollable over her need for blood. Besides…" I started saying as I looked over at Oleeme. "we tried to save her. The vampire that died was right; we couldn't beat a Daedric Lord's special gift. If she wishes to die later, we'll kill her."

Erandur growled at me. "What do you mean, if she wishes to die? She's a beast now…she won't want that. Would you?"

I shrugged. "I would not want to live forever, no one does. Everyone has a time and a place. She has the choice of it now: when and where and how." I stepped away from Erandur. "We promised to save her. I guess I should report my failure."

_{No need, Shadowblade. We saw the whole thing. You did you best, mission accomplished. We all knew that she was turning. There was no changing that. Not once we received a report about what a vampire lord really is. Your new objective is to keep her safe and on our side. She will be a valuable ally if you can control her. She might seem like a monster, but she is still a little girl. Once her blood-call wears off she'll return to who she was before she was bit.}_ My father called over my receiver. _{Right now focus on your primary mission. Find that seer and see if she's still alive.}_

I nodded and pressed my transmitter. "Yes, father. We will begin at once."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ok, now we're getting somewhere. This story should start writing itself after next chapter, where the seer comes into play. For all of you who read my other stories, being the Shoutmen and CoDS:L you already know who this little girl is and who the seer is as well. ALL my stories will tie in at some point. Just to let you know, I'm just that type of writer. I do not create separate worlds, all one world that exist within each other. Just my style, I guess._


	10. Ch 10: Fallout

**Cearbhail:**_ Yay, new chapter. All done with a throbbing migrane that has not let up all night long. I thought about rubbing an amethyst on my head to calm it down, but if I rely on magic for every little ache and pain...I'll never adapt. Anyway, enjoy._

* * *

The town of Cheydinhal. I spent a lot of time here training with Teinaava and Ocheeva. Seeing as they were successful shadowscales who were commissioned as Dark Brotherhood agents, I was able to come by and receive some specialized training from them. I spent a lot of the time walking around the town with Teinaava, taking in the sights and taking notes against my marks. It was a lot like spending time with Julanza only with more emphasis on how anything you do affects the Dark Brotherhood.

The town as I knew it back then was pretty much an Orc town. Orcs seemed to make up the population and hated anyone who wasn't already a part of the town. Seeing a small teenage Argonian wearing mage clothing, they pretty much assumed that I was already an outsider that they could pick on. Well, while I did not do anything against the Orcs, some of the bullies pushing me around wound up dead the next morning and Teinaava was busy washing his blades. Do the math.

The town itself was beautiful. The buildings were lovely and spacious, the town center was built around the guilds. Then there was the small garden outside the Fighters Guild. That was my favorite spot. And although Cheydinhal was surrounded by political corruption it was still a nice place.

But, now the town was leveled. Most if not all the buildings were dropped into a smoking pile of stone and smoldered wood. Craters were left in the ground where Aedra dropped their light bombs. Bodies of victims scattered the streets and some of the bodies were half skeletons with charcoal clinging to where their clothes used to be. It was a grim sight.

I turned to face my task force. I nodded to Erandur. "So…despite our vampire attack, our seer was last sighted here. Think she stayed?"

Erandur glanced around the town. "I'm not sure." He said, beginning to rub his stubbly beard. It looked like he had forgotten to shave the past few days. Then again, we did have more pressing issues. Erandur glanced over to Oleeme and said, "Can you do a scan for anyone containing a high amount of magicka?"

Oleeme glanced over to Erandur and nodded. "Yes, of course." He took a step back and started making lightning-fast hand-signs. His eyes flashed open into a bright light. His body started surrounding itself with a bright flaming white aura as wind started blowing from all sides of him. He started lifting his hands up, and with that, his feet left the ground. He started levitating, crossing his legs and he touched his index finger to his thumb in a relaxing pose. "I will begin scanning immediately. I suggest we use as little magicka as necessary, lest we attract Aedra to our current position."

I nodded, looking over to Huir. "Huir, we need you on overpass. Tell us if you see any movement, our little vampire friend included."

Huir nodded and started looking for a good place to set up. He had just reached the top of a fallen building before he turned to us. "Our little vampire friend in on her way back."

Both Erandur and I turned around to see the vampire girl flying back over to us. She was flying just a few feet off the ground, very slowly. Her wings flapped as fast and as hard as they could and I could see the girl actually strain to keep herself airborne. Although her feet were only an inch length from the ground, she wobbled as if she might fall off a giant cliff. The expression of pure exhaustion and strain was starting to show on her face.

She looked up at Erandur and me and smiled. The break in her concentration allowed her wings to fold and she fell to the ground, smacking her face against the ground. She hit so quickly that I thought that she had just died or something.

"oww…" She mumbled through the dirt. She folded her wings up and pushed her way back up to her knees, brushing off her dress as she did so. She looked up at me and grinned like a child. I could see her teeth were stained with someone's blood. "I'm back."

"I can see that." I replied to her. "Did you kill someone?"

She gave me a confused look. "No…I found a recently dead body that I drained of blood. Then…" She said, rubbing the side of her face nervously. "…its hand may have started moving. I think I just animated a dead body into becoming a vampire."

Erandur smacked his head and pointed up at Huir. "Huir, animated body. Go find it, see if the person's alive. If so, bring them back here for healing and interrogation. If a zombie or thrall…kill it."

The girl protested the last statement. "What? Kill a vampire? Are you going to do that with me?"

Erandur shook his head. "You seem to be in control of yourself now. Plus, we were ordered to keep you safe."

The girl crossed her arms. "Yeah…good job with that." She touched her fangs in mock-surprise. "Wow…I have fangs…" She glared at Erandur. "If you _had_ been protecting me…I wouldn't have them!"

Erandur sighed and face-palmed gently. He looked over to me and said, "Please…handle this."

I nodded, looking over to the vampire girl. "What's your name?"

She smiled. "Babette Traven." She stuck out her hand for a handshake. "My grandfather was some mage or something." She said as I took her hand and shook on it.

I nodded, thinking about her last name. Traven. I don't know what it stuck out to me, but it did. I think it had something to do with the Mages Guild war with the King of Worms, but I wasn't too sure of it. My feeling of infinite knowledge seemed to leak away, making me feel like I was missing some sort of defining trait about this girl that I should know about. Whatever it was, I guess I could find out later.

"I am Shadowblade Nexauvia Frazviani. Don't both trying to pronounce it. Just call me Nexa, everyone else does." I nodded my head over to my companion floating in mid-air. "And this one of my partners…"

"Oleeme Puparammanx." He called back gently but forcefully.

Erandur only seemed to sigh. "I'm Erandur Ocato."

"Name's Huir!" Our archer called from the top of his little roof. "I'm a little worried, sir!" He shouted, his accent thick. "I see a giant wave of bright orange heading our way. I remember seeing waves before, sir. I believe they may be an Aedra extermination heading our way."

Erandur growled under his breath and grabbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "This is no good! We need to find this seer." He looked over to Oleeme. "Have you located her, yet?"

Oleeme shook his head. "I cannot feel any other significant magicka-laden energy levels within the city hold. I can feel small pockets of lesser forms, maybe children or commoners, or maybe even animals. No significant fighters, though."

Erandur looked shocked for a second. "Wait…survivors? Where?"

"Below us, sir." Oleeme said.

Babette nodded, looking away for a second. "Oh yeah…there was this fallout cellar that everyone started piling into. But…" She said, rubbing the back of her head. "Some of us didn't want to hide. The dead bodies you see are the guards and the Fighters and Mages guild. My dad fought as well and I was hiding in the house, crafting potions for him. I…I never got to hand him my healing charm." She said, holding out a blue bottle that sparkled with a pink glow. I could see tears welling up in her eyes.

Erandur wasted no time. "How do we get down there?" He asked, stepping up to Babette.

Babette pointed back to one of the burnt down houses. "Each house has a trap door that leads down to the fallout shelter. My house wasn't hit that bad so we'll go through my house."

Oleeme stopped levitating and looked down at Babette. "You seem very calm for a ten year-old who just experienced death beyond any measure."

Babette scoffed and crossed her arms. "Well…I am a mage's daughter. Not to mention…becoming a vampire is a very sudden change." She clenched her fists. "I feel…so different. Capable, powerful,…invincible."

Erandur smirked. "Good, we need someone like you if we're going to fight these Aedra."

Babette growled in response. "Don't worry. I have plenty reason to fight them."

We started walking into Babette's house. Well, whatever was left of it anyway. Old paintings of the happy family hung across what was left of the wall, a giant scorch mark obscuring the mother's face. Since the wall that surrounded it was untouched by fire, I can only guess that the scorch mark had been intentional. Babette led us into a very pink and blue room. Right where a bed used to be there was a giant hole in the ground and in the ceiling above. She walked over to the giant hole and gestured down. "The entrance _was_ under my bed…before someone destroyed it."

I looked down, seeing a square hold continuing past the crater. Along with it was a ladder that descended down into the darkness. I wondered how far down it all went. Had to be far enough if everyone was safe.

I was the first one to begin climbing down the ladder. The crater was filled with shifty rocks and I almost slid down the tunnel because of improper footing, but I had caught myself before I actually fell any further than a few inches. As I got about 10 feet down, I could see Erandur going next.

The way was dark and for a few minutes I had to actually feel every step I took, every bar that I grabbed. I could feel cool air flowing up and I noticed a slight breeze that was starting to collect. I had to be near the bottom. Finally, I felt my foot hit a solid piece of ground. I stuck out my hand and started warming up a fire-palm spell. A giant burst of flame erupted from my hand, illuminating the now stretching tunnel that was lying in front of me. It was a short tunnel, only long enough to take a few yards of walking before coming up to a doorway that no doubt led to the giant fallout center under the town.

I waited for Erandur to land next to me before I went ahead and stealthily slid up to the entrance of the door, scanning it for any physical or magical traps. Erandur must have followed my principle of being stealthy because he brushed up to the other side of the door, quiet as a ghost that _doesn't_ breathe loudly.

I allowed myself to catch my breath before I charged up to the door and began to grab the doorknob.

The doorknob started twisting and I jumped back, pulling out two of my throwing knives. The door slid open and out came someone shrouded in a giant black cloak and hood. He was charging right for me. I unleashed both of my hidden throwing knives. The hooded assailant pulled out a two-foot long stick of wood and spun it around. My throwing knives thunked against the wood, becoming lodged inside it. The warrior spun the stick around and the throwing knives flew off into the walls surrounding us.

Erandur took that as his invitation to attack. He unsheathed his blade and charged forward. He came in, bringing both his blades down onto our new enemy. The new guy seemed to notice Erandur, flowing between his swords, stabbing his board of wood into his arm, and then bringing the other one down on his knee. Erandur screamed out more in surprise than pain as he crumpled over.

I was already charging back in, unsheathing my sword. I was a trained assassin. There was no way this upstart could beat me. I flashed up to him, slashing with my sword, already preparing to shove my spiked kneecap into his stomach. My assailant seemed to flash alongside me, catching my attacking hand and bringing up his own knee, keeping mine from interfering.

A good head-butt later, I found myself stepping back, grabbing my head in slight pain. Erandur was already back up on his feet. "This has gone on long enough!" He screamed, clapping his hands together.

A giant shockwave of spark, fire, and air magic roared off his hands, blowing the entire small walking tunnel into an explosion of tight magic. I could just barely raise a warding spell to protect myself. As the dust cleared, I could see the assailant holding up an entire warding bubble. He looked just fine.

Both Erandur and I were slightly shocked to see the assailant's hood had come down. It wasn't a man, it was a woman. She had straight black hair and a giant white blindfold that covered her eyes. This was it, this was the seer we were sent to collect. Just as Erandur was about to say something, she flashed over to him, launching her arm into his sternum. He was still so shocked that he fell off his feet and into the wall. When she turned to face me, I was already preparing to fight her.

"Hold." I heard Oleeme say softly from behind me.

Just as the seer charged up to me, a giant blue fire surrounded her and she became frozen.

Oleeme looked over to me and then to our assailant. "I believe this is our target. Shall I release her from my hold?"

I shook my head. "No way to know if she'd stop attacking us. Knock her out, we'll tie her up and stop all her magicka, and then we'll talk."

Oleeme nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Sleep." He spoke softly, his eyes lighting up. The seer seemed to struggle for a second but then her entire body went limp.

…

A few minutes passed and we took the time to draw a magic circle around her body, limiting her magic to just inside the circle. At first, when we entered the room with their 'protector' limp in our arms, they started preparing to attack us. Once Babette ran into the room and explained what was going on, everyone hesitated in attacking us, finally settling into the belief that if we trumped their only fighter that they were as good as dead if they did charge us.

After we had prepared the circle and cuffed her hands behind her back and tied up her legs as well, I took the time to survey the area. It was just common sense to examine all supplies, take in a guess as to the condition of any possible fighters and liabilities within the group, and a quick survey of all exits. This was what I was good at. Apparently, so was Erandur. His eyes practically followed mine in exactly the same line of thought.

The room was large. A large steel ceiling hung overhead us with vents that probably led up to the clean part of the sewers. That would be the logical guess, or this place could be alongside the sewers. There were no excess buildings, just tents set up along the perimeter. Crates of fresh canned food were stacked along walls. It appeared that someone had tended some sort of underground garden. Vegetable stacks had their own corner, a constant Sunlight spell flashing overhead, creating the necessary light to grow fruits. Aside all that, there seemed to be an adequate amount of chickens and cattle. Good source of eggs and meat if need be.

The people looked more or less worn and torn. The most of the populace were Orcs and Dunmer, but I could see the occasional Imperial or Nord. Some Bretons seemed to line the herd as well. But I did not spot many Bosmer or Altmer. I wondered why.

A mumbled groan coming from our unconscious ally broke my concentration. Erandur was the first one to bend down to check on her. "Good, you're finally awake."

She struggled through her binds, glancing down at the circle. "Ah…a magic blocking circle." It appeared as if she could see through the cloth. Yeah, this was our seer alright.

Erandur stood up and crossed his arms. "It was for our own good. You startled us. Gave us a good beating."

She smirked through her tight lips and glanced up at Erandur. "You were being stealthy. I worried that the vampires had discovered our location." She glanced up at Babette and her smile vanished. "Babette, I thought I told you to stay down here. Why did you go up there?"

Babette smiled sheepishly. "I wanted to see if anyone was coming. I thought I heard voices…"

The seer sighed and said, "And against my orders…you were bit and turned into a vampire. I told you to stay here."

Babette shrugged and looked away. "Oops."

The seer looked up at me and then to Erandur. She pushed herself onto her feet and suddenly, the cuffs holding her arms snapped and the ropes surrounding her legs burst into flames. She brushed off her cloak and tossed it to the side. I could see the white mithril armor with magical runes etched inside the metal with blue glowing Welkynd crystals. Sown into the armor was a rich blue fabric known to the battlemages. The fabric was traced around the sides with golden runes of the same design.

The seer looked up at me again and said, "I am to take it that you're the Shadow Squad sent to acquire me?"

I nodded and looked over to Erandur. "Yes, and this is Troop Leader Erandur of the Battle Group 4."

Erandur nodded a greeting to her, sticking out his hand. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance…?"

She 'looked' down at his hand and took it gingerly. "Just call me Lilly."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Yes, for all of you who know what's going on. I'm sure you all know what's going on..(that made perfect sense, if it made perfect sense)..._


	11. Ch11: Lilly's plan

**Cearbhail:**_ This is becoming hard. Hmm. I think I need a few suggestions on how to make this better. Planting humor into this story is difficult. It's going to dry up unless I can think of something to lighten it up a bit._

* * *

[Nexa]

"Huir? Do you see any movement?" Erandur called through his transceiver.

We all sat quietly around Erandur was we patiently waited for Huir to give us a reply. Upon hearing that a wave of Aedra was coming in from around us, we sent Huir outside to scout for us. Since then, we've been waiting for him to respond back. Well, some of us were waiting patiently. Our new seer, Lilly, was sleeping against a wall, or at least I thought she was. I couldn't tell. She did have her eyes wrapped up under her white cloth. I wondered when she would lose it. Babette was playing with the other children. They didn't seem afraid of her even if she had wings and pointy teeth now. It just made her 'cooler'.

The only other person not interested in the comms was Oleeme. He was already levitating off the ground, probably not even mentally inside this room anymore. I wondered what he was thinking. I mean, I thought I'd get some time to figure him out but we'd been so busy that I hadn't had time to actually talk to him.

_{Yes, the Aedra are not leaving. They are circling over the city.}_ I almost jumped at hearing Huir respond so quickly. He had taken his time so far with answering us. But I guess he had all his information now.

"How many of them?" He asked back.

_{Oh, I don't know. 50, 60, 200… Shall I keep going higher? Or do you just like hearing impossible odds?_} Huir's sarcasm was easily transferred over the comms.

Erandur cursed and slammed his fist into the ground. He looked back over to us and shrugged. "We can't leave. The Aedra are still swarming around the town." He brushed his long golden hair before leaning back. "Dammit. Just when I thought life would start going our way for once."

Lilly smiled as she sat up against a wall. I guess she wasn't asleep after all. "Hmm. We can either go out and try to sneak by them…or fight them…or just wait it out." She rested her hands behind her head and crossed one leg on top of the other while she continued to lay there. "Whatever you feel like, Eran."

I could see Erandur's ears twitch. He sighed as he looked back at her. "I'm sorry, but you do not know me well enough to call me by my nickname."

I could actually see Lilly frown. "I told you mine. Besides…the things you do…will do…amaze me. I was hoping we could be friends." I could hear the fake poutiness in her voice.

I suppressed a chuckle and backed away from Erandur, who was rolling his eyes. He turned away from us both and said, "My teammates are the only friends I need. I cannot extend that pleasure to anyone else. If I become too close to someone…and they die. I've been there before, I'm sorry, but I cannot handle any more friends."

Lilly smiled as she leaned forward. "Then we're friends. I'm on the team now, Eran." She leaned back and said, "Get used to it."

It was at times like this that I could see just how far Erandur could be pushed before snapping. He spun around, practically spitting out his response. "You're on this team? Then _do_ something! You're a seer, right? Tell us what to do, where to go, SOMETHING!"

Babette, who was sitting silently beside me after talking to her friends, rushed behind my back, grabbing onto my scaly armor as she hid herself away from Erandur. Lilly did not seem affected in any way to Erandur's outburst. She only sat up and reached up for him. I thought she was going to smack him, but she tapped the transceiver on his chest. "Huir?"

_{Yes, ma'am?} _Huir answered.

"The southern side of town, there is a smaller outpost which leads to a lake. If you follow the hole in the wall, it will lead you right to the outpost. The Aedra will be watching but if you time it just right, you'll slip through the hole undetected. You remember that ring I gave you?"

_{Yes, ma'am. And I see that hole you referred to.}_ Huir answered back.

"That ring is fueled with that 'Soul Separation' spell that I keep hearing about. Slip it on and race out to the lake. Rendezvous with your squadmates and drag them back here. We're going to punch a hole in this group. While we confront and disrupt the Aedra, the survivors will either stay here and live life as now dictates living, or they will risk moving out to Black Marsh…last safe place in Tamriel. We might as well get you started on this whole 'world war' thing _before_ we get to Elsweyr."

Lilly finished and plucked her finger off the transceiver. She glared up at Erandur, well I thought she was. Her eyes were still wrapped with that white cloth so it was hard to tell what she was attempting to do. But with her body being stiff and a strong frown on her face, she didn't need her eyes to emphasize her hatred. "You know…I used to look up to you. Read books that spoke of you and how you led your army through the thick of the war. I thought meeting you would be exciting, uplifting. Maybe even…inspiring. You gave me hope, _hope_ that I didn't believe existed in my time. But now, I can see now that I shouldn't believe in heroes like you."

Lilly shouldered past Erandur and walked up to me and Babette. Erandur didn't stop her. He just continued to glare at his spot on the wall as if he hadn't noticed that she moved a second ago. She smiled and nodded as she came up to me, patting Babette on the head as she did so. She stopped just past me and said, "You should get your friends prepared. We have a fight on our hands in a bit."

I nodded to her and grabbed her by the arm as she continued past. "May I talk to you out in the hall?" She nodded and we both quickly made our way into the hall. Once we had closed the door behind us, I sighed before looking at Lilly. "So, you're from the future then. That explains a lot, actually."

Lilly nodded. "Yes, that is correct. Far enough to know what's going to happen to you all if I don't help you out."

"And far enough to know where this ruin is…" I started to ask her. When she nodded, I allowed a quiet sigh out of my lungs. Good, this was helpful, really helpful. Probably the best news this world has had in a long time. Especially since there _is_ a future now. She couldn't come back if she was never alive in the first place. That was something I was hopeful to. Not to mention that she knew where to find our ruin as well. This was really good. This war would be over soon. "So, what's with the whole…act?"

Lilly smiled. "What act? You mean how I can be relaxed and carefree? Well, I can see into the future. When you know everything that's going to happen, you tend to…live as you see. Flow through the actions, the words, everything that you know you're going to say. It's gets boring." Then she smiled. "But there was a time when I was involved in this hectic quest, just completely random and stupid. So many things happened, so many people were involved." She shook her head and nodded to me. "But, I guess that doesn't matter right now. You want to find this device that will end this war."

I nodded. "Yes, we do. It's why we were sent to find you. So, it's in Elsweyr?" She nodded. "And you're going to take us there?" She nodded. I smiled.  
I liked it when things started going our way. "So, when are we going to leave?"

…

[Warlord Zeelius]

I watched with growing interest at the scene unfolding. Yes, my daughter was doing great. Not only did her plan work, but she got everyone inside, and kept everyone alive so far. Now, she has found the seer and discovered that the seer does know the artifact that we're looking for. That and she knows how to get us there. This is good. Very good.

I looked around the table. Fiirnar for the most part was leaning back, rubbing his chin in thought. Some wheels were turning back there, I could tell. He was contemplating. This girl was from the future. I wondered what type of future she came from. How far from now, who ruled the world; stuff like that. My entire ambition was to use my troops to enslave the world after this crisis. We had just begun to recover from the Oblivion crisis when the Aedra started wiping us out. Not any quicker than the Daedra were but it was still bad. Cities were leveled, countries evacuated. It was bad. But if this girl was from the future, it couldn't be too bad.

Sosia looked fanatic. She was smiling from ear-to-ear, glaring up at the virtual image like she wanted to reach out and talk to the girl. She achieved time-travel. That was a Psijic type of spell; of course the Mages Guild leader would be interested in a magic-to-magic talk. We all wanted something from her. Information, secrets. It's normal to want to know things. I just wondered what Fiirnar wanted to know.

I allowed a silent breath escape me as I leaned back, carefully studying the look on the seer's face. The way she looked around like she wasn't blind. The way she talked, the accent. She was a Nord, I knew that much now. So, Skyrim still exists then. It is true that most of the Aedra had left Skyrim alone because of the frigid temperatures. Maybe they are the only ones to survive? No, I refused to believe that.

"So, what's your time like anyway?" My daughter had asked the seer through the screen. That's right, daughter. Keep pushing for information. I had to be careful with what I learned though. If she said that Argonians take over Tamriel, I was pretty much screwed unless I killed everyone inside this room now. I hoped the seer didn't ruin the surprise.

The seer shrugged. "Well, there's not much waiting for me at home. Not unless I change it." Then she smiled and grabbed my daughter's shoulder. "You'll help me with that later."

My hand curled up into a ball. I wanted to shout through my daughter's ear piece, make her ask more questions. But, I couldn't do that without becoming too suspicious. If that seer leaked too much information, it would become a bad thing. So, I tried a different approach. I tapped the speaker and said, "Shadowblade. Is she a Psijic? Where did she learn to teleport?"

"So, question. You're from the future?" The seer nodded, this time a little annoyed at the repeated question. Careful, daughter. Get her too annoyed and she won't answer your questions anymore. "So, how'd you learn to do that? Travel through time?"

Both Sosia and I leaned forward. Fiirnar scratched his nose like he didn't care, but I could see the glint in his eyes. Those Altmer let too much out through their emotions.

The seer smiled and looked right at the small crystal that allowed us to see her. She nodded at us and said, "Warlord Zeelius. I know you. You want to know my secrets? Then I'll tell you. I was trained by the Psijic monks. And yes…the world's just fine. We'll live through this."

A cold chill went down my spine. She spoke to me. To _me_! She was that powerful? That was dangerous. I wanted to warn my daughter, tell her to take caution. This seer needed to die. But, I saw how well she could fight. Giving such an order would be the end of her, of me. Of all that I fought for. But…keeping her alive was just as dangerous.

I grabbed my head in frustration. First a Khajiit blood-rager, now a seer who 'knows' me? No, this was getting too much for me now. I exhaled and caught my breath. No, I could do this. I was in control. I was the military leader of Argonia. I was the calm, collected, strong, leader. If I broke, so would my troops.

Sosia burst out into laughter and reached out to grab my arm. "Did you see that? Did you…" She pulled on my arm in excitement. "She just spoke to us. She can see us! Quick…ask her something. Make her talk to us again."

I shook my head, but even as I looked to the screen, I could see the seer looking at us again. She grinned lopsidedly and shook her head in disappointment. Sosia almost had a heart-attack, and so did I. I don't think the two of us were having heart-attacks for the same reason, however. Sosia was elevated at the idea of this mage, while I…I needed to change my pants. Something fouler than my thoughts were brewing down there.

Finally, Fiirnar let out a chuckle and leaned forward. "Glorious. This is…amazing. The Aldmeri Dominion must know about her. Study her, learn from her. If we can replicate this…technique we could do so much for this world. Imagine, a living Psijic monk that is actually interfering with our lives. The very thing that they won't do. Amazing." His chuckle broke into a laugh and he stood up, brushing off his long black leather coat. He started for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" I asked, rising from my seat as well.

Fiirnar turned to glance at me. "Well, to go collect this girl. She is in the interest of the Aldmeri Dominion, after all."

I pointed to his seat and said, "We'll deal with her later. Right now, we have to coordinate our forces and if you leave, we'll have no one to move the coordinated elf movement."

Fiirnar looked like he was going to challenge me, but he instead cleared his throat and elegantly returned to his seat. "But of course, Warlord. We'll play it by your rules…for now." He smirked at me and I could tell that he wasn't planning on listening to my rules for much longer. Oh gods…I couldn't wait until this war was over.

I went to the map display and pulled the image away from my daughter. I wanted to see this swarm for myself. As I pulled the map back and displayed the full city of Cheydinhal, I could see the giant swarm of red blips. I wondered why they were there suddenly. Then I could see a few red blips down by the dead bodies. Ah, they were there because of the vampires. That made sense. They were fallen angels. Their mission was to end all sin and vampires was bad as Daedra or liches. That didn't make them harmless to anyone else, though. They were corrupted Aedra, killing everyone because humans are born and die in sin. Therefore, we are sin and…we needed cleansed. The priests of the Aedra were martyred and the rest of us…demons to be killed. But I'll be damned to Oblivion if I let some misguided angels kill me.

I pulled the map further back and looked around. This cloud had dispersed from the Imperial City. I looked at Sosia and said, "Imperial City is clear. You should set that out for the resistance via crystal ball. We can take it back now and get supplies for the various camps."

Sosia nodded. "Right. And…what's going on south of Cheydinhal?"

I enhanced the image. It looked like Huir had made it back to the battlemage camp. Good. Maybe we could sit here and watch everyone evacuate and give out our information while we still had eyes from all angles.

…

[Nexa]

I stood there, shocked that Lilly had just spoken directly to my father. What was he going to do about that? I hadn't heard any orders. He was likely plotting something now. She knew who he was, what we were. There was no way he'd let her live now. But…was I even able to kill her? Someone who could see the future had to know what was coming, but she said it herself…she just…went with it. So, why was she back here anyway? Wasn't thing against her 'flow' theory? I was no scholar…oh wait…I kinda was. Still, this was a debate on actively changing the world and just doing it because you saw that you did it. Two completely different styles to the same approach. Which was it, though? Was she doing it to do it, or doing it because she wanted to do it and change something? I don't know but I wanted to find out.

As we walked back into the room, the first thing I saw was Erandur. He was inches away from me. I was well trained, so I didn't just back or anything. I did, however, reach for my dagger. Something that I needed to work on. Erandur didn't react to me, though. His bright eyes were stuck on Lilly. He bowed to her and said, "I'm sorry, for earlier. I…I watched a couple of my friends die a few days ago. It was my fault. I didn't lead them correctly. I…I hesitated." He pushed in for a hug, which Lilly seemed ready for. "I'm sorry for the things I said."

Lilly patted him, smiling. "It's ok, Eran. If we do this right…not many of us will have to die anymore."

He pulled away. "Not many of us? Why can't you say 'any of us'?"

She smiled thinly. "You know why. War…no matter what happens. We will lose someone. You can lead perfectly and someone will still die. There is something good, though. Your leading will save a lot of lives. I, however…just get everyone killed." She patted Erandur on the shoulder. "That's why I look up to you. I want to learn how to lead like you. Save lives."

Erandur actually looked shocked. "Where are you from anyway?"

She shrugged. "Won't matter unless I change. Everyone I know will die and I'm the only one who can make a difference."

We both stood there for a second. He nodded to himself. "Fair enough. So, what's our next move?"

Lilly sat down against the wall. "Wait. Anyone have any cards?"

Both Erandur and I sighed as we sat down next to her. Well, it's not like we had anything better going on. Now, we just had to wait this out until our rescue party came to find us. Yeah…this was going to end in blood. I already knew it.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ok, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know what I can do to correct this and make it something above standard. something perfect, worth reading. I'll be meditating and contemplating. I think I know the answer, but if someone reinforces it, I will be more than happy to change this story's way of telling._


	12. Ch12: Daedric crack

**Cearbhail:**_ Finally, a new chapter. Nothing really that important to report. Other than this chapter is done in Nakuma's perspective, as is dircted below. All her chapters will include an entry from her shadow journal. A shadow journal, for those of you unfamiliar with them, is a journal that magic users write in. It is usually a collection of spells, your feelings on them, your results on using them, and just about anything you want to put in it. After a while, the journal takes on its own magic. For my series, these shadow journals will have their own role, their own purpose._

_Also, enjoy._

* * *

[Nakuma]

_Shadow journal entry 2,_

**_Black Soul gems_**_. A soul gem that has been transformed using necromancy and the shadow arts. It has the capacity to trap beyond just wolves and lesser Daedra. It has the ability to trap any sentient life: i.e. Humans, Khajiits, Argonians, and even Dremora._

**_The Black Soul Gem Capacitor_**_. It is a device created by the wizards of old. Project leader was Mannimarco. Designed as a portal to the shadow void (not to be confused with the realm of Sithis). The Shadow void is a separate realm within our own, hidden away within the shadows of space and time. It is timeless and limitless. Millions of Aedra have been sealed away over the course of the original war. More just keep coming. No one has figured out why or how. The current Aedra are believed to be some of the current prisoners. As such, the device needs to be tweaked. Rather, has a separate function the shadow realm's walls started to degrade. Mannimarco theorized the possibility of the Septim line being killed out by some cult or another. If such an event were possible, added with Daedric portals ravishing our dimension, Mannimarco also theorized that the walls to the shadow void would also weaken and allow rifts through to our world. It seems that he was right._

_The Device itself was created as a last ditch effort. It is a creation of dark magic and Dwemer construction. Apparently the Dwarves had their own battle against Aedra. Is this how they all just…died off? The device needs seven black soul gems to run it. It also has a slot built in for a colossal black soul gem in the center of the circle of black soul gems. It acts as an additional power source/emergency back-up. Luckily, we still have the one that was made from Hannibal Traven, the previous Mages Guild leader._

**_The Great Dark Welkynd Stone_**_. The only one in existence. According to Mannimarco's shadow journal, it is a dark welkynd stone which in itself is the outlining wall to the shadow void that the Aedra were sealed into. Since the wall has cracks, this stone is probably in poor condition, or even destroyed. There are notes on how to create a new GDWS, but it's not pretty. I'm sure the council will provide the necessary components. It is created by using the said seven black soul gems, and one colossal black soul gem for the middle. Fresh ones will be needed for this as in…filled on the spot. In the device will need to be a Great Welkynd Stone. Once all the black soul gems, colossal included, are filled, the stream of dark magic will travel through the tubes into the GWS. That will corrupt the GWS and turn it into a GDWS. Just in case I need to remember all this for later._

_Nakuma, Shadowwraith…_

_…_

"Are you busy?" I heard Ram-ku say from behind me. It was enough to make me jump out of my skin.

In a rush, I slammed my shadow journal closed and rushed to stand up. All the journals and books on black soul gems all started falling out of my lap as I started pushing my way up to my knees. As the journals and books started falling into the mud, I suddenly looked away from Ram-ku onto the now muddy texts. "No!" I screamed as I bent down to pick them up.

I started pulling the books out of the mud, Ram-ku rushing to help me. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

Meesei walked up, shaking her head in disappointment. "Ram-ku, you almost gave the poor shadowwraith a heart-attack. You know how they are…they get so involved in their research that they don't even exist in the same world as us."

I smirked and looked away from both of them. The sad thing was…it was true. The training we went through, the mastery of all the arts of magic, magicka, and spirit-weaving, was intense. The darker arts were even harder to grasp because they were involved in deep-seated rituals and rules, precision stuff. Our training was intense so we could master every aspect of this stuff. When we got it wrong, we spent a day in the…shadow chamber. Dark, cold, empty. Time means nothing there, your own voice carries no vibration. And with just a thought, the entire place can become a giant cyclone of emotion and pain, smashing your spirit on all sides with force strong enough to smash bones. It was necessary as a punishment to force us to focus. The pain and suffering only stopped if you could focus on nothing and just…embrace the shadows. I spent almost a year collectively in that place. When you live through that…you change. You become what I am, scatter-headed, jumpy. If you stay there longer…you become like Oleeme. He almost never left that place.

I smiled up at Ram-ku and Meesei. "Uh…thanks for helping." I said as I grabbed the texts from Ram-ku's hands. I quickly checked the old books and notes for any mud and water damage. It wasn't so bad. If I let them dry naturally, they should hold up just fine. They've seen worse. Sooner or later, I was going to have to recreate these texts in new books so that they wouldn't be lost to time. Well, at least for another six centuries.

Ram-ku smiled at me and nodded. "No problem. We just have…an anomaly that we need you to check out. Shadowmaster hasn't spoken to us since Nexa left. I guess he's taking his watcher role seriously."

"An anomaly?" I repeated. "What kind?"

Meesei walked up, her arms crossed. "The magical kind. Come, we need you to check it out. We have the little kitten and the Dunmer checking it out, as well as that blood-rager, but they're all scratching their heads."

So, I stood up and brushed the dirt off my robes as I followed behind Ram-ku and Meesei. Meesei kept looking back at me, her eyes fixed and disgusted. Her body was tense, her hands scrunched up into a tight ball. Streams of auratic energy poured off her shoulders and legs, visible for someone like me. Every time she looked back at me, I could see her staring at my perfectly clean robes, unscarred body, the lengthy yellow feathers that I let grow out.

Meesei's feathers were shorted, cropped. It was a shame because they were a beautiful deep orange that worked well with her purple scales. Her armor was dinged, scratched; her face covered in all sorts of scars. Part of her eyebrow was missing, as was a part of her lip. She and I were the same size, but I felt so small compared to her. I only suffered mental damage; she suffered physical and mental damage. It was no wonder why she hated me.

Ram-ku, on the other hand, did not look so banged up. His scales were a darker blue with black feathers that grew out just a little longer than Meesei's. He looked more relaxed and didn't glare at me with the intensity that Meesei did. He actually seemed to smile at me, which made it a little easier to be around him. He caught me looking at him and smiled at me. "Will you relax? We're not leading you away from the other to kill you…or something like that." He said that with a twisted grin and winked.

Meesei only grunted and looked away. "Speak for yourself. I already plan on poisoning her later."

"Poisons will not work on most Argonians. You have to resort to very potent poisons for us, and with the shadowwraith and shadowscale training camps, each of us have our own ways of neutralizing poisons. There is no poison in this world that can kill me." I said robotically. I didn't think before I opened my mouth. It just happened.

Meesei stopped for a second and looked back at me. "Are you kidding me? If I stab you with a knife laced in Khajiit blood…I'm sure you're going to die."

I found myself crossing my arms and stepping up to her. "You think I'm afraid of a little blood and a _knife_? Do you have any _idea_ what I am capable of producing with a thought? I have mastery in the most sensitive mystical arts. I can unwind you particle by particle without a second thought." I said through gritted teeth.

Meesei rushed up to me, beginning to unsheathe her dagger. "You little…"

Ram-ku ran in front of her and me, pushing us both back. "Hey…you two. We're on the same team!" He pushed us back and said, "So relax!" He leaned over to Meesei and said, "No more threats." He leaned over to me and said, "Stop with the whole 'I'm a master of magic' crap." He shook his head and started walking away. "Now come on. There's still this whole magical anomaly that we need you to fix."

The rest of the way was quiet. Ram-ku walked in front of us, pissed off at us both. Meesei walked slightly behind him and to the right, still uptight, but no longer glancing back at me. I took that as a victory all on its own. I, on the other hand, was feeling like a jackass for my own behavior. I should not have resorted to threatening Meesei with my magical ability. Sure, I could do everything that I started, but I didn't like to resort to it. I couldn't help it when I felt pushed. I didn't like being pushed around and that's exactly what shadowscales did to us. I was sick of it. I wanted nothing more than to put them in their place. If they could see that we're just as good as them, only trained different, maybe they wouldn't push us around.

I allowed that growing feeling of smashing Meesei's head into ground to simmer for a while before I forced it away. Someday, if I needed to, I would do it. My body was still shaking just from beginning to contemplate taking her life. I couldn't get it to calm down. I wasn't sure why I was so worked up.

"Right over there." Ram-ku called from the front, forcing me to snap back to their world. I crashed into his back as I started focusing again. Ram-ku fell forward, but caught himself before he fell over. He glanced back at me and smiled again. "Welcome back."

I glanced up at him. "Sorry, contemplating magic stuff."

He directed my gaze to the collection of mages. "The thing is right there. We're not sure what it is. But it's giving off magicka readings."

I stepped away from Ram-ku and Meesei and joined the two Khajiits standing there with the Dunmer. They were standing around a crack in the ground. A crack that was glowing bright red with a stream of red magic pouring up into the air. I leaned in and sniffed the air. It stank. It smelled like rotten eggs and sulfur. Brimstone.

I coughed as I pulled myself back. The younger Khajiit snickered to herself and said, "Oh, welcome, Argonian. I guess we should have warned you about the smell."

My eyes were tearing up and I looked away, afraid I might start crying if I didn't. "That's ok. Any idea what this is?"

Vatu, the blood-rager, nodded looking down at the crack. "These roots that are pulling out of the ground around the crack are Daedric roots. Harrada roots, and this is bloodgrass. I can see both here." He sat up and looked over at me. He nodded and said, "This was a site for an Oblivion Gate during the war."

I nodded, concluding the same thing. "Ok, so why is there residual brimstone leaking through the ground?"

The Dunmer answered that. "I believe that the gate rested here through the entire course of the war. If that's correct, this site was collecting Daedric energy for a while and it probably all collected underneath this ground. Now that it's starting to break up, it's causing the ground to slit. Now's it's seeping through this crack, dissipating into the air."

I nodded, scratching my chin. "And if that's correct, we can't do anything about it. We could make a portal for Daedra to come pouring out of the Deadlands. Add to our forces. But doing so will be problematic. Aedra might feel that portal ripping open and rush over to attack us."

The Dunmer nodded again. "Yes, exactly. So, we agree. This is a potential Daedric portal. It's hard enough to summon our comrades and we could use more. Think we could just open a new portal for them to come through?"

Vatu hissed at the idea. "And then what? It will be the Oblivion Crisis all over again. We should just leave this alone."

The Dunmer sighed and turned to face him. "The Oblivion Crisis was about Daedra being able to open their own portals. If we open this one, we can also close it. Not to mention, Mehrunes Dagon cannot just walk into our realm anymore. Akatosh took care of that. Trust me, we'll be fine."

The smaller Khajiit looked over at me. "What do you think we should do?" She asked as she started scratching her ears.

I shrugged. "I think we should seal it." I closed my eyes and placed my hand down onto the ground. I was familiar with Daedric magic. I had a few pacts with some Daedric creatures to summon at my will, a few Flame Atronachs, one Storm Atronach, and two Frost Atronachs. As well as a couple animal familiars.

With my eyes closed all the background noise silenced, I could feel the ground breathing. I could feel the earth's heartbeat, the subtle shift of the world soul. And here underneath it was an unnatural bruise. A wart on the earth's soul. It shouldn't be here. It was building and building and now was compacted and ready to blow. This crack was the only thing keeping this site from blowing its top off. If I even forced some Conjuration magic into the wound, I was sure this entire place would light up in a Daedric explosion of fire.

I slowly let myself come back into my own body, slowly hearing the people around me talking. "So, we agree then. We mark this site on a map and use it to open a portal to Daedric reinforcements when the time is needed." The Dunmer said as she crossed her arms and shifted away.

I shook my head and pulled my hand off the dirt. "No. This entire place is a brewing ground of Daedric magic, like we thought. But it's compacted and ready to explode. If we attempt any type of magic on it, it will explode into a magical explosion. I saw we mark it with a giant Silence and Shield surrounding it. That will subdue any magic that goes in or out. It if blows, it blows within the shield."

Vatu and his little sister seemed to smile at that suggestion. "Sounds good to me." He looked over at the Dunmer and said, "Well, Davilia? I think she's right on this."

Davilia nodded, brushing some of her dark blue hair out of her eyes. "Ok, sounds good. I didn't realize that it was compacted." She smiled down at me and stuck out her hand. "Thanks for the help. What's your name?"

I looked at her hand for a second before I cautiously stuck mine out. I grasped her hand and started to shake it. "Nakuma. And you're Davilia, right?" She nodded. I looked over at Vatu and his little sister. I still felt uneasy around him. I mean…when you hear tales about the blood-raging Khajiits that carved through us without hesitation, about the war we had with them, all the bad blood. When you're around all that talk growing up, it kind of sticks with you. The blood-ragers were our boogeymen. But, here were two right in front of me.

I stood up and walked over to Vatu. He glanced at me, his face neither friendly or threatening. His little sister clung to him as tight as she could, but she didn't look scared or worried. Khajiits and their poker faces. It was something I had to get used to. I stuck my hand out to Vatu and said, "I am sorry for last time. My name is Nakuma Vaqonala." When he took my hand, I bowed to him. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He smiled back at me. "Vatu (no-last-name). This is my little sister, Nisha (same-no-last-name)."

His sister pushed off his leg and clamped onto both of mine. "Nice to meet you." She screamed, high-pitched.

I actually meant to continue talking to them but some noise called my attention away from them. Ram-ku and Meesei were already ahead me. They were taking up positions behind trees, both of them readying their weapons.

I squinted and looked closer. Through the bushes I could see a Bosmer dressed in iron armor. He wore the arm-wrapping that Erandur's squad wore. I looked over at Meesei and screamed, "Don't attack. It's one of Erandur's juggernauts."

They both stayed hidden behind the trees. Maybe they saw something I didn't. I looked closer and could see a group of bears chasing after him. I pulled Nisha off my leg and pulled out my wand programmed with shock magic. I didn't need bother. The Bosmer was just fine.

Once he spotted us, he nodded a welcome and reached for a bottle of ale strapped to his belt. He turned around and popped the lid. He shoved a leaf into the opening and lit it on fire with his fire magic. He then tossed it into the group of bears. It shattered into a giant light of shattering glass and alcohol. In that second the bears were stunned. The Bosmer then, faster than my eye could track, pulled out his bow and launched a series of arrows into the throats and skulls of the beasts. In a few seconds, they were all dead.

The Bosmer smirked and nodded to the dead bears and approached us. He bowed deeper to me and said, "Why 'ello. Thought I'd bring some lunch for everyone. Hope they like honey-tasting bear." He smirked as he slipped the bow over his back, looking at all of us. "Oh, by the way. We found the girl we were after, and much more. There's a whole colony underneath the city of Cheydinhal and an entire army of Aedra circling above it. We need to create a distraction so that they can escape."

I looked at the giant crack of leaking Daedric magic and suddenly a plan formed. I smiled and looked at the Bosmer. "I think I know just what we need to do."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: And now, I get to do what I do best. Giant Big-ass explosions._


	13. Ch 13: War drama

**Cearbhail:**_ New chapter. Finally. I wasn't sure what I wanted from this, but I knew one thing. I wanted it to be about the war council and...a comical element. Probably could have done better, but at least I made Fiirnar swallow his tongue. Literally. Enjoy._

* * *

[Warlord Zeelius]

"So, what did Ri'Saddo miss?" Ri'Saddo asked as he walked into the room. Everyone turned to look at him. He had stepped out almost an hour ago to use the restroom, but even if he was taking the largest crap alive, he still would have returned by now. I smelled something worse than leftovers…I smelled treachery. He joined the rest of us sitting down at the large round table that surrounded the virtual map of the world. When he tucked himself in, he gave us all a big toothy grin. "I was hacking up a furball. I'm afraid that the toilet is clogged now." Damn, I hated Khajiits.

I was pacing around the room, glancing at the map for anything useful. The entire world seemed more or less consumed with random pockets of Aedra running around in circles. Even the homeland of the Akaviri wasn't so easily evaded. The Blades were helping some surviving Ka'Po'Tun there. They were half-breeds of Khajiits and our Argonian races. It happened…we accept it. Our cousins also live up in the Akaviri lands. The Tsaesci were closely related to us, only that we evolved legs while they have none. Losers. That and they can't breathe underwater. No…they have poisonous fangs and spit acid. Lucky bastards. The inhabitants of Akavir, all of them were helping us with the war since they were having trouble of their own. As luck would have it, representatives of all four races were coming to join us in our war room. A group of Blades were seeing them here. I could see the convoy right now as they entered through the beginnings of our forest. Good, I always wanted to meet a Tsaesci.

Among the group of four races were the Tang Mo and the Sload. They were coming in as well. I was amazed when I heard that the Sloads were getting involved. However, we do need all the resources that we can get. If one necromantic Sload joined us with an army of necromantic Sloads…imagine all the meat-shields my Argonian brothers can hide behind.

Other than that, I hadn't heard about any of the other beast races joining us. Giants were still fighting up in Skyrim, goblins giving hell in Cyrodiil. Imga were throwing rocks from slingshots in Valenwood, and the Lilmothiit were…well…they were somewhere doing something to someone. Yeah, I don't have much information on their whereabouts or what they were doing. I receive reports from one of their leaders though…Kinlop. The only one I've ever talked to. Technically he's part of this council, but he's one of those…lead by example fighters. Excellent stealthers, I'll say that much. Great with spears.

Sosia sighed as she leaned on her arms. "This is confusing. What have we learned so far?"

Jauffre, the Blades Master, looked over at her and smiled. "Well, if you're referring to what we just watched on the screen, Margret is in love with Stevius, but his twin brother, Turkush, has been secretly dating her. Now, whenever Stevius is around Margret, she confides all her secrets to him, but he seems aloof to her, because he is not the one she's really dating. So, she's convinced he's really just a tsundere, a hard person on the outside with a soft inside. Meanwhile, Stevius is dating Margret's cousin, Veronica, who's not a Breton like Margret, but an Imperial. Switched at birth by a witch so that she'd have a magically inclined daughter, while the mother would have a well-tempered daughter instead. Ironically that other daughter is in fact, Margret's best friend and is plotting to rip her heart out so that she can become a lich…"

Sosia started chuckling but shook her head. "I don't care about my sister's love affair. I was talking about my son's."

Jauffre shrugged. "Well, Primrose has a crush on him, but he doesn't seem to care much for her. Now, he has feelings for the Argonian Nexa, but she seems to be indifferent to him: loving him while cautious enough that she will kill him if he gets too close to her. All of this stems from the bad blood between Khajiits and Argonians. There is also the fact that Primrose has the ability to command Vatu and Nexa to do whatever she wants, but she never uses that ability because she feels it is wrong to use the gift of animal gab. Meanwhile, we have Nakuma who is starting to get close to the shadowscale Ram-ku. Both of them seem nervous around the other, and with the bad blood relations of the two, seem distant to confront each other about their growing feelings."

Ri'Saddo scratched his head. "Is he missing something here? How are Ri'Saddo's recon scouts faring?"

I walked up to the screen and rotated the world around so that I could see Elsweyr better. A swarm of Aedra covered one spot, so I tapped there twice. The screen zoomed in on the spot and there I could see ten or so dying Khajiits bleeding into the sand.

I could see two Khajiits still alive. One of them was a panther-faced forest dweller, the other one was a leopard-faced sand dweller. The panther-face was clutching the leopard-face tightly in his lap, rocking back and forth. "Ja'rinqa! Don't give up. Ja'rinqa!" He shook the leopard-faced female. "Ja'rinqa! Stay awake."

She looked up at him and reached up to rub her claw up against his face. I saw her smile before her eyes slowly faded away. Her hand dropped down, lifeless. "JA'RINQA!" The panther-face screamed into the sky.

I watched in slow horror as the Aedra flew down and quickly dismembered his body. Out of respect, I did not turn my head away. I forced myself to sit and watch it. When it was done and all the Khajiits were dead, I looked up at Ri'Saddo. His face had fallen down in sorrow. His claw scrunched up and he stood up. "Ri'Saddo's daughter…killed." He walked through the door, disappearing again.

I rubbed the back of my neck, trying to get my neck spines to relax. I cannot believe that had just happened. And to Ri'Saddo's daughter. But…we all had children in the war. Well, except Fiirnar. He was the only one here without children out fighting this war. I don't think he even had children. Didn't care, if you wanted to know the truth.

Sosia stood up, covering her mouth. I could see the tears growing in her eyes. "I…I have to go for now. I must see my daughter." Before I could say anything, she just disappeared. I hope she remembered that she couldn't just…teleport back. This place was warded after all. Well, you can leave, but you can't come back. Not unless you know the shadowscale shadow techniques. I would have to send a squad out to collect her.

I looked over at Jauffre and said, "Do you think she'll return?"

He glanced down for a second before shrugging. "She's been through a lot in the past two months. First Hans lost his wife in battle…then Sosia lost her husband as he protected her during childbirth. Sosia hasn't even seen her daughter since giving birth to her, joining you for this war council. Our empire is still crumbling with no leaders, no council to direct us. The only representation of any leadership is myself, Sosia Ernard, and Vilena Donton. The only surviving major guild halls of Cyrodiil. Vilena Donton is hold up in the Imperial City, Sosia in Fort Grief at the very second along with Hans, the highest ranking officer of the battlemages. And I am here, while my second-in-command is off with the rest of the Blades."

I brought up the virtual map and brought it to the small island off to the side of Bravil. As I zoomed in on the island, the screen filled up with static. I tried to bring it in closer but letters started forming in the messed up virtual reception. WARNING. SCRYING IS UNAVAILABLE IN THIS REGION.

I shook my head in amusement. "You actually spent time and energy, as well as magic…just to make any scrying attempts appear as a warning?"

Fiirnar chuckled to himself and looked away. "You really have no tact, do you Warlord?"

I looked back at Queen Ali-Jinasha. She looked as calm as ever, just sitting in her seat without a care in the world. She looked old and just complacent at about anything that could happen. I knew that was just a farce though. With how much she shared with me over just how she hated having company in her royal chambers, I understood her silence. Out of ears, out of mind. If she appeared complacent and nonchalant, people would believe that she had all the power in the world under her claw. If she appeared worried, she was fallible.

The Queen, for once, smiled at me and stood up. She addressed everyone when she said, "He really doesn't. But…I believe we've been here long enough, looking at this…" She waved to the giant world. "map of drama and despair." As she started making her way to the front of the council, she smiled at everyone. "That is why I took the liberty of ordering us some food."

There was a knock at the door, making us all turn to see it. The Queen reached for the door handle and pulled the door open. "Ah…you have arrived."

Three well-dressed chefs entered the room. "Glass Chefs reporting for duty, your queenliness." The head chef walked in front of the others and nodded. The front one performed a front flip, reaching into a portal he conjured up. His hands were suddenly filled with plates of cooked steaks. He launched them all out to us. "Glass Chef Hundar from the Griller's Guild." It was a Bosmer. His plates flew across the table, each one landing in front of one of us.

An older looking Nord male with huge muscles and a tough looking demeanor pulled up a plate of something huge. "My name is Burly the Manly. And if you're not too busy stuffing your faces with meat, I suggest this…" He pulled the top off, showing us a giant bowl of lettuce. Ooh, salads. I hope the next one had soup. "A light salad for those of you who enjoy the real delicacy of non-meaty goodness."

The last one was a tiny Argonian female. She had to be an Argonian. It was tradition that the Soup Guild was represented by an Argonian, since it was originally founded by Black Marsh. Back when we used to assassinate people using the Novapenyo pepper. A soup so spicy that it melted the insides of anyone who drank it…expect us Argonians.

The Argonian scoffed and shook her head. "Seriously, you men and your meat-on-grass grudge. I only want what's best for everyone. I present." She pulled out a giant cauldron of soup. "I am Glass Chef Niirvana. And this is my special recipe. Novapenyo surprise."

I looked at the queen, who nodded to me. Ri'Saddo glanced at the Argonian and said, "What's the surprise?"

The Queen smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about."

I only shook my head and looked away. Was the Queen preparing to kill everyone in this room? Did she not understand the need to keep them alive just a little longer? I pushed myself up and walked over to her. I bowed to her before ushering her out of the room and into one of our many hallways that led to various exits out in the lake. Most of them were underwater, others only emptied out into underwater caverns.

"My Queen, are you attempting to assassinate our guests?" I asked her, crossing my arms. Although I had planned on doing the same thing earlier, I was not planning on doing it until the war was over.

The Queen smiled and glanced over my shoulder to the door. "What makes you think that? The use of the Novapenyo pepper? The most lethal pepper ever concocted being made into a soup of stomach-melting goodness?"

I nodded. "Yes, I mean using the Novapenyo stomach-melting pepper. What do you hope to gain from using it?"

The Queen smiled mischievously. "I only used enough to give them a really bad time on the toilet tonight and a very expressive first sip. I wish to show our nation's strength. Your squad has done little to do so, so I wish to show them our resolve at eating something that they cannot stand for two sips."

"So, you're not assassinating them?" I asked in return.

She walked past me, smiling even deeper. "You understand politics, but you also understand treachery and war. I understand so much more than just these two aspects of being. I have lived a long time and for once I am allied with some of the most powerful individuals in Tamriel. This is the first time we have out-branched in such a way. You have shared with me your plot to rule Tamriel, but…my plot is a different one. I do not want to rule all of Tamriel. It is a messy business. You have seen what became of their rulers. If one's empire rises too big, it will eventually swallow itself…and to smaller fish too. I wish to make Argonia strong, economically, not in size or population. We are a small nation…making it larger will not make it better, only weaker and spread out. If we truly ally with these other nations, open our walls as we have just done…we can become stronger in a sense of unity."

I could not believe these words were coming from my mother's mouth. For years we had chatted about eventually taking over Tamriel, putting the Emperor's head underneath our heels. Now she was talking about a simpler less bloody route. I could not comprehend the need for such a change of heart. So, I decided to ask her. "My Queen, you suggested my line of combat. Why change now?"

She turned to face me, her face pulled in a thousand lines of scaly wrinkles. Her eyes glittered with elder knowledge. It was at times like these that I was reminded at just how old she really was. "I've lived a long life, my son. Eventually, you just have to stop with all the plotting. Such things are not important when you consider everything that follows such wars. This Aedra crisis has reminded me of what happens when everyone allies together and what happens when someone tries to ruin the balance we all hold. And before that was the Oblivion Crisis: the fall of the Cyrodiil Empire. It's time we just put aside all our hatred, our prejudices, our desire for continental conquest. All our nations are allied now…why ruin that for momentary ownership? All we will do is set up our future offspring with pain and war. I'd rather leave them with a unified peace treaty with all the new nations."

I bowed to her, almost allowing myself to nod. "I presume our orders to kill the blood-rager is null-and-void?"

She frowned at being asked that. "Of course not. As much as I hate to say it, that cub is a threat to us all. Keep it on the table as an option, but not finality." She stepped past me and into the war room. "Come, we must show our strength to the other nations now."

I smirked as I followed her back into the war room. Everyone was waiting  
with a bowl of soup, a plate of meat, and a bowl of salad. They were waiting for us. Fiirnar smiled as I took my seat at the table. He sat back saying, "It seemed wrong to begin without everyone at their seat."

The Queen paced in front of everyone, gesturing everyone to look at their bowl of soup. "In front of you, you will notice a bowl of soup. This soup is made from a special pepper made in our swamps. It's called the Novapenyo and it's the hottest pepper ever concocted. Just one sip and you'll be regretting it. Consider this soup an…invitation for an alliance with Argonia. We will all drink from the soup and suffer together."

I almost smiled. I knew that we wouldn't suffer a damn thing from drinking this, but they didn't know that.

"Of course, my Argonians are trained to endure such things with little to no reaction. That is because we are strong. As a show of respect, we shall drink first." She said, bringing the soup up to her lips. She downed the whole thing in one gulp. After she held the bowl upside down to show that nothing remained, she gestured to me and Niirvana to drink. I lifted the bowl of soup and downed it. I was suddenly engulfed in a melting inferno of hot Novapenyo. Just as fast as I felt the burn, I felt my body shut down the pain. It felt like cool water now. Yay for adaptation. Once I finished in one gulp, I lifted my bowl and showed it to them. "You will not get off so easily. We suggest one tiny sip before committing to drinking it."

Fiirnar only laughed before bringing a spoon to his mouth. "You make it sound like it's excruciating. Why I bet you're just trying to scare us."

I smiled at him. "Then don't hesitate, Thalmor. Drink it all…in one gulp."

He frowned at me and brought the bowl up. He lifted it up and started downing it. As fast as he did, it was flying out of his mouth as a giant volcano of soup. He threw himself forward, screaming in pain. "Bosmer piss!" He screamed, his face a sharp shade of red. It made me smile. Just deserts for being an ass.

Everyone else started sipping, each with similar results. Everyone was now looking up at me with impressed eyes. I think my Queen's idea had in fact shown just how strong we really were. Ri'Saddo was the first one to reply. "You Argonians are used to eating this pepper?" He shook his head in amazement. "Khajiits could never suffer such discipline. Living in the desert is painful enough. We don't need hot foods to add onto it."

I was about to reply to him but I was taken by surprise when the front door opened up. In slithered a giant snake with strong scaly arms and a well-built chest. It had a long tail, long pointy vampiric fangs, and red sharp eyes. It was a Tsaesci, one of our cousins. So, the new war councilors had arrived. Good, time to get them settled in.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Yes, if you don't believe that any of those exist...look them up. Even the Lilmothiit. they are a fox-like Khajiit thing originally from Black Marsh._


	14. Ch 14: Ruins and Dwarves

**Cearbhail:**_ A great chapter. Everyone will like this one. It has everything. Random humor, violent explosions. And some minor referencing. Enjoy._

* * *

[Nexa]

"So, you approach a door, a door that upon minor scanning is locked. The hallway is dark, barely lit. You can see shadows flickering through the crack in the door. What do you wish to do?" Lilly asked Erandur.

A few of us sat in a small circle, each of us holding a pad of paper and rolling dice. Yes, we were playing Ruins and Dwarves. Erandur was playing his favorite class: a rogue. And I was playing…a mage. Go figure right? Our roles were reversed. Only, he was playing as a Bosmer, I was playing as a Khajiit named J'vasti. Babette was playing a cleric Dwarf, and Oleeme was quietly watching us, playing as a Nord fighter. Lilly was the Ruin Master. She played all the villains and set up our world. She pretty much ran everything.

Lilly smiled at Erandur. "What's it going to be?"

Erandur smirked. "Well, I do still have that bottle of mead and that potion of alchemist flame. What if I were to just toss it in and watch them squirm?"

Lilly blinked in surprise. "What if they're just royalty dining? One could be the busy father, one the distressed mother, and the other the neglected child. You don't know what's on the other side."

Erandur seemed to nod. "Ok then. I'm going to pull out my mirror and angle it under the crack in the door and scan the room with it."

Lilly nodded. "Ok, make a roll for the mirror reflection detection, and a roll for search."

Erandur rolled two dice. One die landed on a 10, the other on 19.

Lilly smiled. She rolled some dice of her own and then looked up at Erandur. "When you attempt to pull out your mirror, you forget momentarily to compensate for the torch on the other side of the door. The initial flash of light penetrates the lead Orc sitting at the end of the table. But you can clearly see that this is in fact the Blood Bandits leader's war room. You can see six other nasty Orcs gathering around a map. In the corner of the room you can see the Breton woman you were contracted to find. She is beaten pretty badly and is tied up. She is unconscious. Your eyes are drawn to the bandit leader who is growling at your now reflecting mirror. He screams to his fighters to bust down the door. Please roll initiative."

Erandur cursed. He looked over at me and the others. "Guys, get ready. There are at least six baddies inside, all Orcs, all bandits."

We all cursed in response and started rolling dice to determine who got to go first. I rolled a 12, Oleeme rolled a 1, Erandur rolled a 16, and finally Babette rolled a 20. Lilly rolled something and wrote down her numbers. "Ok, Kavarken gets first move."

Babette smiled. "I'm going to turn around and run like hell." She said, throwing up a victorious fist pump.

Lilly nodded. "That's a movement. You still have an action."

"I'll use that when they catch up to me. I'm only a heavily armored dwarf. They'll catch up fast." Babette replied.

Lilly looked back at the rest of us and said, "Now, Orc leader is at the door. You guys wait as you're readying yourselves. Suddenly, the door shatters under the Orc leader's foot." She looked over at Erandur. "Erandur you have evasion. Roll to see if you evade."

Erandur rolled a 1.

Lilly almost shook her head. "Right…Rambo over here, instead of rolling away from the exploding door dives into it, not only receiving a nasty boot to the face, but has also sustained splinter damage, blinding his eyesight. If that wasn't bad enough, his bottle of mead shattered in his pack and the boot smashed his alchemist flame. Erandur, roll for uncanny rolling save throws."

Erandur became lucky, rolling a natural 20. He looked up at Lilly and said, "Can I also take an attack of opportunity?" She nodded. He rolled again, scoring another natural 20.

Lily nodded in reply. "Almost as fast as you catch flame, you fling your burning side pouch off. But you don't stop there. No, looking to the Orc's foot for a suggestion, you decide to throw your flaming pack at him. It sails from your hand, planting itself right onto the crotch of the Orc. He screams out in pain, falling back into his buddies. Suddenly the room explodes into flames, from all the liquor hanging from their pouches. You watch in silent appreciation as the room quickly catches fire, all the Orcs running around in circles trying to fight it off without even thinking of…I don't know…leaving the burning room."

Erandur looked relieved. "Oh thank Auriel that worked out alright." He looked back at us and said, "Nailed it.."

Lilly smirked. "As the room continues to burn you begin to hear the faint whimpering of the unconscious Breton in the corner of the room. As she becomes aware of the room's condition she is now crying out for help." She looked at Erandur. "What will you do?"

Erandur nodded and looked over at me. "J'vasti, you're a mage. Fire protect yourself and go get her. I'll assume the door will collapse behind you so we'll meet you outside. Just jump out the window or something. Be dramatic about it too."

I nodded. "I cast Fire Protection on myself." I said as I rolled my dice. I rolled a 14. Not bad. "And then I bulrush through the door." I rolled again, throwing a 12.

Lilly rolled as well. "One of the Orcs has regained his senses and sees you rushing into the room. He takes this time to grapple you."

I tossed the dice. "I roll my Khajiit reflexes." 14.

"He tries to grapple you but trips over a discarded morning star." She replied. "You push him off and rush for the now frantic woman. Roll for rescue operation."

I rolled an 11.

…

[Nakuma]

"Ok, rescue team in position." Huir called through his transmitter. He glanced over at me and the team gathering up behind me. It was just the five of us: Huir, Vatu, Primrose, Davilia, and Meesei. There was a separate team on the other side of the woods, preparing the strike. My job was simple. I would cast one spell…_one_. That one spell was going to be Flare. And that one flare was not only going to set off a giant drum of wine, but it was going to ignite into a giant explosion. When was I going to do this? When the Aedra were right over top of the kill-zone. Why were they going to be there? Answer, a diversion.

_{Roger. We're set up at as well. Shall I light a giant Magelight over us now?} _Crassi called over her mike.

Huir nodded, mostly to himself but it seemed to carry over the transmitter through his speech. "Yes, go ahead and cast it. Then turn around and run like hell. I'll set myself up for the shot. Are the Daedric Churls ready to be sent back to Oblivion?"

_{They understand their role. Get the Aedra close enough to die. When they get close enough, blow the top of the lid. You're firing in case they die before they _can_ pull the top off. We know the Aedra are not the type to just run in and get killed. They've lost several massive battles now and they are beginning to thin out…but that comes at a price. They are beginning to figure out how we conduct warfare.}_

Then a new voice called over as well. _{Sounds like you guys have a solid plan. I'll wrap up saving the damsel and we'll meet you by the gate. Just tell us when it's clear for us all to leave.}_ Erandur said. Damsel? What the heck was he talking about?

I heard Vatu to the right of me snicker. He tapped the transmitter and said, "Ruins and Dwarves? You're playing without me?"

_{Or me?} _Crassi called over. _{We all agreed; we were sitting down and playing a campaign as a group. That's it. I'm making this an order. We're all getting together and running a massive cooperative campaign. All of us…in separate games. No one will be left behind ever again!}_

_{Sounds good to me. We need four more players on my team to make it interesting anyway. Knowing Lilly over here, she can probably run twenty different campaigns without losing track.} _Erandur called back.

_{I'm still human; I cannot just 'keep track' of 20 different players running separate campaigns. No, we'll have to have at least one RM per game. And two or three universal RM to choose when separate campaigns will collide in quests and team-ups. I believe this can and will be the most awesome game of Ruins and Dwarves ever played.}_ Lilly started sounding frantic, like she could see the end result already. If she was a great seer like Oleeme told me, I think I could believe it. I could not wait to meet her personally.

_{Sounds good to me. I'll light this birdy up and then we'll all play some R&D_.} Crassi seemed to smile through her transmitter. Seconds later I heard a_ pop-hiss_ and a very bright light flew from the kill-zone. It soared up above the area and exploded into a brighter light that popped and slowly started to fall back to the ground. It was a good distraction spell, as well as an 'I need backup or rescuing here' spell.

I looked up to see all the Aedra stop flying around in circles. They all silently turned to look at the floating light, their bodies illuminated. They _did_ look just like Orcs. A longer skinnier, bonier, shiny blue Orc, with longer teeth and hollowed out eyes. Large orange robes that were stained almost red from all the blood gathering covered their bony bodies. I found myself taking notes about their appearance in my shadow journal, so I'd always know what they looked like. I found myself wanting to…dissect one. Study its magical aura. I wanted to understand the beings floating only 50 feet above me. To know what an Aedra feels like (magically). But I knew that was never going to happen, not with a live one.

The floating Aedra seemed to watch the falling ball of light with quickening interest. One of them screeched something out and they all took off like ghouls for that light. The speed of which they moved was frightening. It was like watching bats soar through a cave entrance, only these bats were blue and orange and taller than I was. They all flew off towards the light, circling around it. One of the Aedra spotted our retreating comrades and started blasting away with a giant fireball. All the other Aedra turned to see the explosion. After that, we could all see the engrossing battle.

I saw Huir pull his bow back. "Erandur. City's all clear. Taking the shot now. We could use some help out here, they spotted our combat force. Taking heavy fire."

As his arrow came all the way back, I poured some oil on a cloth and wrapped it around the tip of the arrow. I lit it on a small Flare and then, when my hands were back, Huir released the arrow. The now flaming arrow flew across the sky, becoming a small dot. Well, until it struck the wine. Then there was a large flash of the wine barrels igniting. Then…a massive purple/blood-red explosion that ripped through the ground. With the magical attachment to the already launched arrow, as well as the Flare spell already in use…the explosion that followed was enhanced by the pressure of built up Daedric energy. A large mushroom cloud of dark purple and blood-red energy skyrocketed from the ground. The ground shook from where I was. I could only guess at what was happening down there.

…

[Crassi]

"Keep pushing them forward, but continue to fall back!" I screamed to everyone as I pulled my bow back. I released my oil-tipped fire-enchanted arrow at the face of an Aedra right in front of me. My arrow planted itself in its skull. That alone would have been enough to kill him, but as he reached up to pluck it out, I thought better. Then the arrow exploded into a giant burning flame that consumed his body. I watched as his body started burning to ash, melting grossly in front me. The screech that ripped through the air was enough to deafen me; giving me a splitting head-ache that threatened to send me to my knees.

The ground beside me exploded as silent Restoration-based spells impacted heavily all around me. Dirt flew up, my soldiers screamed out orders and suggestions as they launched spells, wards, anything they could think of to keep themselves alive a second longer. That was when I saw the small ball of blue flying from the town's gate. That was my signal. "Ok, everyone! Massive Fire spells now, then wards up and run like hell!"

I pulled out a scroll of Fire Storm, we all had one. I muttered an incantation and aimed the scroll out, just like everyone else. Almost all at once large streams of fire erupted from our scrolls, lacing the air above us in a consuming fireball that could match the sun in strength. When our scrolls vanished into a magical puff of smoke and dust, I threw myself back, running as fast as I could. Everyone followed my lead, running up the hilltop. We only had to make it over the hill and we'd be safe.

I started thinking about my past. How my father used to run R&D campaigns in the Imperial City. I used to play as a Witchhunter, a magical archer. Actually, it reminded me of Huir; he was a lot like a Witchhunter. Anyway, my father used to play as the RM and it was a family thing, something that brought all the neighbors together on Sundas afternoons. It was our thing. It brought us all together to relax and play games. I missed days like that. It all changed when the Mythic Dawn attacked. Then the whole stomping giant Daedric Prince, Mehrunes Dagon, and all my neighbors were basically killed. All but Vatu. Bet he doesn't even remember me at all. Not that far back.

A sudden push against my shoulders and the hot bone-shaking explosion told me that the kill-zone was now lit. I was lifted off my feet and I covered myself in a Stone-skin spell. I instantly locked up and I stopped feeling much of anything (part of the spell). Flashes of trees, fire, other people, and dirt filled my vision. I spun around a lot while crashing through trees. Never felt a thing. Stone-skin: a spell that covers your body in a magical unbreakable stone. The downside, you can't move, period. Not until the spell is released at least. When I finally came to a rest, I allowed the spell to unlock. I had flown a good distance and even had knocked over a few trees. Everything else was consumed inside a giant mushroom cloud of Daedric magic. The giant swarming cloud of Aedra was now almost gone, only a few still floating around, some of them caught in trees. They were already dying. The ones up in the air circled around like rampant flies, trying to figure out what to do next. Good, we still had time to recover.

I looked around the rest of the army. I think we all survived. They flew as far as I did. And even if I did hear a lot of painful crying and people grabbing separate limbs that had broken or dislocated, we were just fine. I let out a disgruntled laugh. Good, I still had a chance to play a Witchhunter after all. That is, if we survived the remaining…14 Aedra flying up in the sky.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ruins and Dwarves. That's going to be a common theme for this story. So every once in a while, you'll see them sitting down for a couple minutes and playing. This will be an interesting story when I'm done with it. Always evolving._


	15. Ch 15: United, we'll stand

**Cearbhail:**_ A great chapter. Next chapter, well. I didn't plan on doing this, but I guess it has to be done sometime. I'll explain at the bottom. Anyway, this chapter's pretty standard. And I'm sure you've all noticed the relationship of the R&D game with the actual story. Last chapter "Rescue operation" and 11. Then there was the whole actual rescue plan that was going great until someone spotted him [Erandur/Crassi's attack force] and ruined it. Aka, her plan went well, but was totally ruined (11). I'm sure you all know what to expect from this and the following games for now on._

_Enjoy._

* * *

[Nexa]

We were still waiting for Erandur to finish his part of the campaign so that we could stop at a comfortable place and leave. Everyone else was taking this time to assemble everything they had to leave. Well, the ones of us that were leaving at least. We did have some guards and Imperial Soldiers that were keeping people safe here and they insisted on staying here in case anything happened, but Lilly pointed it out to them that they were needed out helping the others that weren't living under a giant bubble of soul protection. All the guards agreed after a few minutes. Arguing with a seer is a stupid way to lose an argument.

As it was, most of the community felt that they were safer here and would just weather out the war. Heck, they lasted this long, why wouldn't it keep them safe longer? They were going to wait until they heard the all-clear. Or until it became impossible to live under these roofs anymore. They had plenty of water, food, and livestock. I'm sure they'll be just fine for a couple months at least.

I turned my attention back to Erandur and Lilly. Both of them were still rolling dice. The rest of us already had our dice and our papers collected. We were ditching as soon as Erandur finished.

_{Erandur. City's all clear. Taking the shot now. We could use some help out here, they spotted our combat force. Taking heavy fire.}_ Huir's voice sounded loud and clear through my receiver. I looked over at Erandur.

He nodded to his receiver as well. "Ok, Lilly. Let's hurry this up."

Lilly smiled. "Your brilliant plan to jump out the window went well enough. Sure you were caught in the act of jumping out and a group of bandits managed to ruffle you up to the point of where you were almost caught in the fire, but you managed to escape. That part of the plan worked. Falling five stories to the ground, however…wasn't a part of the plan you had thought of. The good news is that you survived the fall. Because you landed on a giant pile of hay. Please roll for situational circumstance." Lilly said, looking up at Erandur.

Erandur smiled and rolled his dice. 5.

Lilly shook her head. "You really suck at this game. Whatever. When you sit up and look around, a powerful smell overcomes you. It's burning your eyes, stinging your nose. You look down to see that the rolled up wad of hay is in fact the hay that is pulled out of the horses' pen. You are lying in the sticky nasty crap-infested hay that the horses have rolled in for days before it was switched out with newer hay."

"Ah, crap!" Erandur said.

Lilly nodded. "That's exactly what's stuck up in your hair at the moment. Well, anyway. The Breton, while being completely disgusted by your attempt at rescuing her, is climbing out of the hay stock and attempting to walk a straight line. It's not going well because she still has too many injuries to be perceptive of her body and her environment. Overhead, you hear a giant explosion. The room you were just in is now nothing more than rubble and parts of the wall are starting to rain down on you. Roll evasion."

Erandur rolled. 16.

I suddenly felt the ground shake violently. Everyone around us started falling down due to surprise. Some of the lanterns fell off their hooks, smashing on the dirt floor. Dirt fell down off the somewhat dirt ceiling in small streams. It was just a little dirt so no one freaked out or anything. That's to be expected when something goes 'boom' and you're underneath an entire city. Well, that and cave-ins, where the whole ceiling just happens to shake loose and decides to fall and kill everyone. But hey, who am I to consider that to be something to worry about?

The room shook again harder than it did a second ago. I could hear and feel the rumble that was happening overhead us. Everyone paused for a second and looked up at the ceiling. I bet they were reconsidering staying here now. Another explosion like that and the whole place would cave in. The giant cracks in the 'ceiling' were starting to acknowledge that. There weren't any cracks when I first got down here, and now there were. That first explosion must have been the explosion trap for the Aedra. I sure hope it worked. The second rumble we heard and felt must have been the aftershock. You know, all the force that pushes away until it comes to a stop.

Lilly continued on like nothing happened. "You flawlessly evade damage and manage to squirm your way out of the poop hay while you are at it. As you rolled out of the hay a giant flaming brick lands where you laid, lighting the hay on fire." Lilly rolled a die. "The Breton on the other hand is throwing her wrapped arms above her head, screaming at the top of her lungs while flaming bricks land all around her. She is untouched, as if it were by a miracle. But if your rescue operation was not hard enough, it seems that the massive explosion only served cause to draw in a much larger crowd of bandits. Your friends are still far away and you are damaged and weak. The Breton is not a combatant and is of no use at all. The new enemies are rushing to get to you before you run away. Every second you waste is one more they have over you. What do you plan to do?" Lilly asked Erandur.

Erandur groaned and looked around for suggestions. He looked down at the map. "How many?"

Lilly smiled. "Care to guess?"

…

[Crassi]

"How many?" I asked Huir through my transmitter.

I looked up at the giant mushroom cloud. The giant purple cloud made up of Daedric energy was still thick in the sky, towering over everything like the sky. You could see the magic still rolling upwards in a lazy manner now. The top of the mushroom was expanding out, while slowly dissipating. The shockwave that followed the explosion blew away every tree around, killing almost everyone in the blast. Well, should of. We mages threw up our shields and wards. We were protected. All the dead deer, rabbits, and birds told me what could have happened to us if we hadn't done something. The air was thick with Conjuration magicka as well as dirt and sawdust. My eyes stung with the foul presence of Daedric magic. The only thing I knew was what I heard a few seconds ago. _We have company._

_{I'd say thousands.} _He replied back. I could barely hear him over the pounding in my ear. _{That explosion did more harm than good. They're coming in at all sides now. We have to get our friends out now and make like ghosts.}_

I groaned out loud, sitting up. My iron armor screeched with protest. My lungs cried out in pain as my armor continued to pinch against me. I groaned as I touched my own armor and started focusing my magic on it. I visualized the armor taking rust, growing old. I forced that visualization into action and fed that image into my will. I felt my energy take form and collect in my hand. As if on command, a yellow magic flowed through my fingers at the touch of my armor. My armor creaked but split apart. I lunged myself forward, happily taking in a large breath of air. The air still felt heavy with magic. Magic that made my head spin. This was not our magic; this was magic of the Daedra. It could kill us in overdose. We had to get out of here.

I looked at my fellow battlemages. We were still pretty banged up. Some were just now waking up, some were crying out in pain for a healer. Some were running around, well limping around, trying to assist in the Restoration arts that we needed so bad. Travis and Nisha were at the head of that charge. Nisha was doing all she could with herbs and potions, Travis was mostly attempting his best at Restoration. We all had our strong points and weak points. Self-Restoration was a simple matter of using your own magicka to speed up your own recovery. Healing someone else was an entirely different matter. You had to be able to sense other's energy, synch with it, visualize their pain, and will your own energy to swarm in and overtake it. If you did not know what you were doing, you would end up doing more harm than good. That's why I was glad we had Primrose, the natural healer. Too bad she volunteered to help evacuate the civilians. Might need a healer, she said.

I turned my attention to the growing cloud of orange figures. I tapped my transceiver and said, "Well, get them out now. How long until our _guests_ are upon us?"

_{10 minutes, tops. They are nothing but a giant cloud right now. If we hurry and you guys start spirit-weaving some Soul Separation bracelets…I'm sure we can get out of here in one piece.}_

I nodded, looking at everyone. I had enough people starting to acting awake now. That was good. "Ok, Huir. Get them out. I'll get my guys started on those bracelets." I pushed myself off the ground, careful of my suddenly weak ankle. I rolled it and I fell to my knees, crying out in slight alarm.

Nisha, the ever vigilant Khajiit cub, came running up to me. "Careful!" She cried out in her high-pitched purr. She ran back to my knee and rubbed something on it. "Cinnabar polypore red and yellow caps." She said as she rubbed something on my ankle. "These can be used to restore endurance and even fortify it." She handed me something and said, "Eat this."

I took it and tossed it in my mouth. I didn't even bother chewing it. I just swallowed. A salty watery taste took my mouth for a second, making my face scrunch up. "What was that?" I gagged out.

"Crab meat. It can also restore endurance and it will also help resist shock. As in…the shock of a rolled ankle and flying through six trees." Nisha said, smiling up at me. I was still in shock, but I could swear that her bright orange fur was covered with red spots. I sure hope I was hallucinating because otherwise that would have meant that she was bleeding out her ears.

I nodded and waited for a few seconds; letting my head stop spinning all around me. I shook it a few times, forcing it to clear up. When I could finally find my voice, I screamed, "Huir is getting our friends out. Spirit-weave as much Soul Separation as we can get. Enchant your clothes, your armor; whatever you're wearing. And then check your weapons. Check their enchantments. Once you are done, report back to your team leaders for orders." I pushed myself up, looking at my broken iron chest plate. Oh well, it was getting old anyway.

…

[Nakuma]

I could see the mushroom cloud from here. I could taste the Daedric magic. It tasted like fire and melting flesh. It tasted like torture, seclusion, frustration, and failure. All that wrapped up in a massive cloud. A cloud that could kill any of us to breathe it in for too long. I felt sorry for Crassi's group. They were right under it. We were up the hill, away from it all. That didn't stop the aftershock. I had to throw up a protective ward just to keep us from being evaporated, like every other living thing around us. All the plants were dead, the animals as well. Everything south of Cheydinhal was nothing but a giant scar of dead plants.

Vatu was pacing back and forth, trying to keep himself calm. Primrose and Davilia were both trying their best to keep him that way. He was pacing about, calling Nisha's name. She was back at that attack. I could understand his worry. I think we all could. Well, everyone but Meesei. She was quietly pulling out a vial of poison and covering her throwing knives with it.

Meesei's eyes met mine and she managed to smile a little before bringing one of her talons up to her lips, making a 'shush' motion. She slid her knives back into their pouches and leaned back, keeping her hands right where her knives were. I could see just how she watched Vatu. She _wanted_ him to turn blood-rager and hurt someone. She wanted to kill him.

For all intents and purposes, I did not like Vatu that well. That being said, I'm not one of the two girls fighting over him to keep him calm. I'm not the Bosmer with her calming voice. I'm not the Dunmer who has a strong connection with him. They can keep him calm. If I just walked up and attempted to do something, it would end with my stomach being raked. I just knew it.

So, I glanced up at Huir. He was sitting atop the wall, glaring at the approaching enemy. I crossed my arms and looked around. What on Nirn was taking them so long?

_{Ok, I've got my story on hold now.} _Erandur's voice sounded through my receiver. It was enough to make me jump out of my robes.

_{ABOUT TIME!}_ Crassi yelled. _{No offense, but we're: heavily wounded, people are getting Daedric magicka poisoning, and we have three massive waves of Daedra bearing down on us.}_

I allowed my breath to escape. Good, we were finally going to finish up here. I looked at the approaching orange cloud. Another six minutes and we would have not been able to escape.

"Hear that, Vatu? You'll see your sister soon." I heard Davilia say calmly to Vatu, squeezing both of his shoulders. She tried her best to look reassuring. I could still see Vatu's tail flick. He wasn't any calmer.

"She should not even be here." His voice called out. "She should have stayed at Cloud Ruler Temple."

Huir chuckled from atop his little wall. He had one leg casually hanging off and he was resting against a pillar. "You didn't hear, did you? Cloud Ruler Temple is gone. Aedra blew that place up two months ago."

"What?" Vatu asked. "How would you know?"

Huir placed a small blade of grass in his mouth. He sighed heavily. "I was there." He sat forward, giving Vatu a stare comparable to death. "I watched a lot of people die there, little cat. A lot of good people. In fact, I was there when Hans lost his wife. It was almost me. I was there when a man protected his wife as she gave birth. I helped usher the newborn girl out. That base was our last safe-haven…and it was destroyed in less than an hour." He finished by taking his straw hat off his head, rubbing his greasy hair. "I…wasn't even a soldier then…just a prisoner. But…I signed up afterwards. I had to get them back for what they did to everyone. It's just not right. All that death."

Just as Huir finished his speech, I could see Erandur poking his head out the hole in the wall to the city. We had set our rescue operation outside the wall Huir found. It was mostly because we knew that was the only way anyone was going to leave. But we were planning on using the vegetation as a cover. Not that it would matter with Aedra.

Erandur looked up at the cloud and nodded to us. "Ok, we have our seer. Everyone else is staying here. But…we have gained our ranks by another as well." He turned his head around and smiled. "It's ok. They're nice."

A small girl maybe ten or eleven walked out beside Erandur. She smiled thinly and said, "Hi…I'm Babette Traven. I'm a vampire."

Vatu, Primrose, and Davilia all jumped back. "VAMPIRE?!" They all screamed in unison.

Babette scrunched up at their verbal unison and jumped back behind Erandur. "Please don't hurt me!" She screamed out.

Erandur protectively stepped forward, saying, "I know you three had some…vampire issues in Vatu's head. But that's over. She's one of us."

Meesei only chuckled before shaking her head. "A vampire? One of us? I thought you mages hated vampires."

Erandur rounded on her. "Your brotherhood accepted them, so did we. As it turns out, the Mages Guild has protected powerful vampires that ally with us. It's always nice to have friends of all kinds, even liches."

Meesei only shook her head in slight amusement. "I guess you guys can break your own rules if it benefits you."

"That's enough, Meesei." Nexa called as she stepped out with a slightly taller Nord beside her. "Now, this is our new teammate. Her name is Lilly; she's the seer we were sent to find. So, new mission directives. Keep her alive at all costs, even your life."

…

[Warlord Zeelius]

I looked around the table. Sosia was back from her little journey. Even if she wanted to stay with her newborn girl, she still wanted to meet the mysterious Akaviri more. After all, her daughter was well protected, she wasn't going anywhere. Sosia was doing a good job of attempting to look in control while acting like a school girl. She would not leave any of the other races alone. Question after question. Even if they answered (which most questions were asked too fast to be answered), Sosia would come out with another question. It was beginning to try their patience. Of that much, I could understand if they all just gave us the dragon talon and left the room without another word.

Sosia wasn't the only one curious about the Akaviri. Ri'Saddo was taking to Vi'uranka. He was the Ka'Po'Tun war leader sent here to see about combining our military operations here in Tamriel. The two were talking about their cultures and just how much the two really had in common. The only real difference I could see in the two was their fur. The Ka'Po'Tun had darker orange fur, almost brown. That and they were covered with black stripes that covered their whole bodies. Well, that and they had some Argonian features. A pronounced beak, slight gills at the neck that were not mandatory, lizard eyes, and feathers growing out the top of his head instead of a mane. He was still covered in fur though. It was just weird. Having fur and feathers. I can see why we refused to keep breeding with Khajiits. Our offspring just looked…wrong.

I was very anxious to meet my brother-in-blood: Tsaevashi. He was the vampiric lord of the Tsaesci. He stood over 10 feet long, if he pushed his tail straight up. But no, he was happy just making himself slightly taller than everyone else in the room. He had no ill feelings about having his very long vampiric fangs out. He seemed to proudly allow them to hang out of his mouth. His fangs traveled all the way down to his chin. I bet he couldn't place his teeth inside his mouth at all. But there were tales of the Tsaesci and how they can stretch their mouths out and eat humans whole. They were known for doing so.

My eyes finally darted to the map. I could see my daughter reuniting with the extraction squad. Good, we could finally move on. I looked at the map and I could see half of the world's population of Aedra were suddenly converging all around the town.

My blood turned cold. It was like a giant cloud of red dots surrounded the whole area around Cheydinhal and my small band of teams were nothing in comparison. Likewise, this was a double-edged sword. We could thin the herd a little right in this town. If only we could get them to stay isolated long enough.

"Everyone…look at this." I called everyone lightly. Even if everyone was immersed in their little 'conversations', they could not ignore my command. One-by-one they all looked at the screen. "We have almost half the Aedra all around Cheydinhal. This could be our chance to take them out in a collected spot."

Jauffre stood up. "We do not have the resources to commit such an attack. Smaller waves have ravished our communities, have destroyed our armies. Now, you want to attack half of them in one go? It would be suicide."

Sosia nodded. "It would be. Remember Cloud Ruler Temple? A wave much smaller than this ruined what was left of the Imperial Battlemages, Imperial Legion, The Blades, and the Citizen Guard. We don't have those types of forces anymore."

I hissed at her. "_You_ don't!" I pointed to Fiirnar. "_He_ does." I pointed to myself. "_I_ do." I pointed over to Ri'Saddo. "And _he_ does." I waved my hands over everyone else here. "And _they_ are committed as well. _We all_ came here to combine our war efforts. So, here's our first real test to see if we can pull off a world war against this threat. _Can_ _we_ do the impossible and fight this enemy?"

Everyone around me became silent. I studied their eyes, hoping to make someone blink before I did. I did not want to lose this war. I did not want to lose this seer before she could find the ruin. As it was going, even with Soul Separation covering every single last one of them, it would take only one blast from each Aedra to render that whole area destroyed.

I pointed back up at the screen. "We just pulled resources to rescue a girl vampire from being taken prisoner. We just pulled resources to collect a seer. And we just confirmed that an entire village of people are still alive. We've all seen what Aedra can do when they _know_ someone is there, Soul Separation or not. They will level that place even if everyone's behind a bubble. It won't stop the rain any more than it will protect them from barrages. If we just sit here and ignore this…they will all die."

Finally, Fiirnar smirked. "I offer the support of the Aldmeri Dominion and all her forces to protect Cheydinhal from her imminent doom." He leaned forward. "Expect them within the hour. We do know how to teleport after all." He gestured around the room. "I'm sure we can assist in teleporting whole armies if you wish us to."

Tsaevashi smiled. "Let it be known that the Tsaesci helped the Empire when it would not help us."

Ri'Saddo stood up. "Elsweyr will not back down with its tail between its legs."

I smiled and looked up at Sosia. "Well, if you task the rest of the battlemages and the Fighters Guild…I'm sure we all survive this day."

Sosia nodded. "Yes, we stand united." And just like that, everyone started coordinating our war effort. Attacks from the west, north, south, and east. It was going to be a bloodbath. One I wished I could see for myself.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ok, so for the next chapter. It will be titled Three months ago. The following one: Two months ago. Just going over the past for a few chapters. So we all know what's already happened in between the Khajiit Battlemage and this one. (Mostly it's for me so I have a solid past to refer upon)_


	16. Ch 16: Three months ago

**Cearbhail:**_ Yup, I'm back again. So, what you have to know about this chapter. Well...it's staged three months in the past. It might seem very close but when the actual book started, I did not intend on it being so far away. It just seemed to happen. So, I will cover my ass by saying that Nexa was involved the whole time with rehabilitation and training. Anyway, just hope you enjoy it._

_Let me know what you thought about it. There will be more follow-ups until I've covered all the missing war things that happened in between stories._

* * *

[Vatu]

"Today, is a grand day." Hans began his speech. The tall Nord stood atop a muddy hilltop, staring down at us. Behind him, all at attention, were: his daughter, his wife, the Arch-Mage, Jurard, Jauffre, and the Fighters Guild Master. They stood silently, more or less stiff as statues as the golden-cladded Nord paced back and forth, a wide smile growing on his face. He was proud of us. For what we did, and that we were still alive.

I looked to my left. Primrose stood just a few feet away from me, trying to keep the smile off her face. I cannot believe just a few months ago we were just beginning as trainees. I never imagined I would end up here, in this war. If I had never intended on joining the battlemages, all these people would most likely be dead. At the expense of my life, well…almost my life, I was able to keep everyone else alive during an ambush of Aedra soldiers. There were very few fatalities. One of which turned into a lich and disappeared to reclaim his true body. No one has seen him since.

"All of you have proven yourselves worthy of being true battlemages. This is no small feat. Many, who are all older, more experienced…have trained for _years_ to come where you all stand today. You have accomplished in one month what no one has done before. You've even fought in the thickest of battles, held your own, and came out the victors. You should be honored to call yourselves battlemages. I know I am."

Hans didn't stop, but he did wave for Erandur to come up. Erandur paused for a second, no doubt weighing what he was going to say. As the leader of our troop, he was supposed to give a speech. He glanced back at Davilia, who I can tell is his new girlfriend. She gave a thin smile and nodded slightly. Then Erandur looked over at me and barely smiled. Smile…that's something none of us do very often. Even if we were as pleased as can be, we're all still in shock. Just two weeks ago, we were all in an Aedra attack. We suffered heavily. Like I said earlier, we didn't lose much. My sister and Primrose pretty much kept everyone alive. But once you live through so much that the ground becomes a lake of multi-colored blood and you technically die…you stop feeling heavy emotions. You have to. Otherwise, you break down. I wake up every night in terrible screams. The nightmares, the memories. The only thing that helps me fall asleep is Primrose rubbing the top of my head.

I glance over at her. I know I feel something for her, but I'm so…numb. So, emotionally ruined that I cannot even comprehend the emotion love anymore. I'm just too exhausted. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to open up without losing my mind, but today is not that day.

Erandur's voice pulls my gaze back to the center of the stage. "Fellow battlemages. We are the youngest of our generation. Not even old enough to be considered adults. But…this is a time of emergency, of war. Look around at your friends…you family. Get a good look. I can guarantee that if we put our best into this…invasion" he spits the word out, "that we'll be able to see these faces again. We can survive to live, to love, to relax. But as long as we have Aedra flying up above us, killing us like ants…we cannot hope to do so. So, we will do what we have to. We will fight, we will run, we will find a way to survive this." Erandur stops talking and looks down at the ground. I can tell that he's not done talking yet. The way his eyes dart around, I guess he's thinking of what to say next.

In just that speech, Erandur has worded every feeling that threatened to control me. He's right. I can worry about my feelings after this war is done. Until then, I might as well just keep myself locked up. I need to be functional, and I can't do that if I have a mental breakdown during a mission.

Erandur looks back up at us and says, "I won't lie, though. If you took a good look around, I hope you remember what everyone looks like. Chances are…some of those faces won't be around to see the end of this war. While fighting to the death don't forget…don't die with regrets. Live life now, live it to the fullest, but with careful restraint. Don't be stupid, but don't live lifeless. The last thought you want to have is of not telling something you wanted to say, or thinking of how you may never get the chance to be with that person ever again."

With that, he walked back up to us and took his spot. Davilia was hugging her arms around him, pulling him close to her, whispering comforting words. I could see tears rolling down his cheek now. He was doing everything he could to not cry. Who was he talking about? Sometimes, these ears are a curse. Because I could hear what Davilia was whispering to him. "Eran, your father would be proud to see you now."

He barely nodded, his tears falling down even faster now. "Just remember to bring an umbrella for the rain, Dav. I don't want you to get wet." His voice was so strained that I could barely hear the words come out. It sounded like they were choking him. What did he mean: bring an umbrella? Why was it causing him so much grief?

Hans walked back up to the stage, his face more carved out of sadness now than joy. He bowed to us all, saying. "I hereby name his troop the 4th Battlemage Group." He glanced back down at Erandur and said, "Troop Leader Erandur Ocato, you are to report to me in one week for your new orders. Take this time to prepare your new armor, your new weapons, and any training you might want to consider before going into the war full-front. Because once you start marching, you won't have time before your first encounter to recall how to shoot a flaming arrow at a target that zigzags like a banshee."

With Hans dismissal I took my ceremonial step back. It was a sign that I was getting out of formation, by stepping back out of it first. Once I got out of the formation, I turned for Erandur to help comfort him, but I guess I was not fast enough. Within a few seconds a round fluffy puffball slammed into my chest.

I grunted and swung my arms around to catch Nisha before she fell off of me. Once we embraced in a tight hug, I could hear her screaming, "Congrats, brother! You're really a battlemage now."

I nodded and hugged her close. "And after this war is over, we'll find a nice house near the Imperial City…or wherever we wish to live. I'll support us with food, water. We'll have real lives again."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "We have lives now, brother. The Mages Guild…that's our home."

_But how long will the Mages Guild still be around?_ I thought sourly. I heard what Erandur shared with me. I looked over to my adopted mother, Sosia Ernard. She was smiling from ear-to-ear, chatting to Adam Ernard, our father and original mentor. Beside them was Hans. They were chatting easily about just much they were happy as hell to see this moment.

A small smile formed on my lips, one of the few ones I've had in a while. I imagined the five of us living in a small cottage next to a hill of trees and close enough to a river. Nisha and our newest sister running around, me catching fish, Sosia making stew, Adam…doing something productive. It seemed like a normal life. Something I hadn't had in a long time. Always running, fighting, stealing from the undead. It gets tiring and you can't run forever without a place to call home. Soon enough, we would have one. I would personally see to it.

Primrose was the next one to fly into my chest. She pulled me in for a tight squeeze, Nisha still clinging to me as well. I heard Nisha cry out in alarm as she was squished between us. "Let me out…I can't breathe!"

"Sorry, Nisha." Primrose pulled away just long enough to let Nisha escape before throwing herself into me. I tripped on my tail and the two of us fell to the ground, both of us crying out in alarm as we did so. The next thing I remember was Prim's head contacting against mine and we were both groaning in pain before we sat up.

I rubbed the top of my head and looked at her. When I first met Primrose, she was a petite wood elf who looked friendly but shy. She had flawless skin, very pale skin. Bright icy blue eyes. Shoulder-length bright dark green hair. Looking at her now, I could see the creases of her skin turning leathery, her eyes hardened, more focused. Her hair was shorter now and a muddier green. That and she had scars in random spots all around her body. She looked like a fighter now. But inside, she was still the same Bosmer I met in the university.

Primrose smiled at me and pulled me in for a hug. "Can you believe that we're battlemages?"

I returned her hug, knowing that I could perform at least this type of emotional comfort. "Yeah, but…it seems like we've only stepped through a barrier that was protecting us. Now we're out in the open, out for real. Before…when people were hurt, you ran up and healed them. Our simulations were good, but no one died. Even the scald victims during our final test were healed flawlessly. But now…" I shook my head and pulled her closer. I felt tears welling up. I…I thought about what I would be like if she died, knowing what I know about her; how she felt about me, and how I felt about her. It would be like if Nisha were to die on me, or any of my other friends. I…I don't think I could live normally after that.

I guess Primrose noticed my tightened hug and maybe even sensed my lungs taking in more sharp breaths as I started silently crying behind her back. She patted my back, humming lightly. "It's ok, Vatu. Stay calm." She whispered just loud enough to make my ears strain to focus on her. It helped.

Stay calm. It was a mantra I had to say all the time. I lost my ring and I had no idea how to make a new one. That ring kept my inner beastly side of me tame. Without that ring, any temper rise could send me feral. So far, I could always focus it on something…like an enemy. But here where it was just all of us, I don't know what would happen. I might kill someone I love instead.

Nisha watched quietly from beside us, giving us cooing sounds of affection. "Primrose and Vatu hunting in a tree…"

I snapped my fingers and a small flare popped up near her nose. It snapped just loud enough to make her jump back. "Hey!" She yelled at me, crossing her arms. She huffed off, leaving Prim and me alone for a few seconds. It was comforting and I didn't want anyone to overly complicate this. Primrose already knew my position with our 'relationship'. I didn't feel like I could open to her and I openly stated that she shouldn't wait for me to open up but move onto someone else. She quietly seemed to ignore that, hoping that someday she will win me over, 'heal my heart' as she calls it. All this just makes me feel worse about it because I feel like I'm using her in some shape or form, which only locks me up more. I wish this could be easier to deal with. There was one more thing that could make this more distracting and confusing for me. Her name was…

…

[Nexa]

"How is the prisoner doing?"

My eyes slowly opened to the sight of the bloody walls that surrounded my small cell. I lightly pulled on my arms, testing the chains still pulled through the walls. When my arm moved a full three inches before shocking me with light lightning magicka, I knew that they were still working.

I screamed out in minor discomfort before the shocks wore off. Stars danced in front of my eyes. My stomach turned, and for the fourth time today, I puked up my morning breakfast. Whatever was left of it at least.

How long had I been locked up like this? Three weeks now? No…too long. Two weeks. Wait…too soon. It was only two weeks ago, from what counting I was able to achieve, that I pulled my soul into the Void to save Vatu's life. I hadn't seen him arrive yet to save me, but that was a good thing. As long as he and his family stayed away from Black Marsh, I would never have to worry about anyone here killing him. He mattered so much to me that I betrayed my own father, my own blood, to save his sister. I always knew that he'd be the end of me. I just wished that we would have returned the favor by now. I ran drills in my head to keep myself sane, but there was only so much I could do.

_My name is Nexauvia Frazviani. I am the daughter of the Warlord. I am the granddaughter of the Queen. I am a princess, royal by birth. I am a Shadowscale. I have feelings for a Khajiit, which is forbidden for someone of the royal throne. I betrayed my country for said Khajiit and saved his sister. Now I'm in prison, slowly dying. Which sucks. But I know that Sithis awaits my arrival and I can wait for Vatu to join me. I have all eternity to wait. Then…we can be together._

My thoughts are the only thing that keep me centered. It's my meditation. Without it, I have nothing to do, no thoughts. I'll just keep running random scenes and memories of Vatu and his sister, with mentions of my training and my Shadowmaster mentor: Julanza.

"Prisoner has slight recognition. She can't hold her food and we expect her to extinguish herself by the end of the week." My present guard called out to my mysterious visitor.

He was right. I couldn't hold my food down. I had lost my will to go further. After seeing the afterlife and what it has to offer over this cell, I'd rather be there and not here. My body was so weak that I couldn't separate from it though. So, I thought I'd just do this the old-fashioned way: die.

"Let me in." Those words sounded familiar. I found myself trying to sit up straight up all I received in return were two steady doses of electricity puzzling through my veins, sending me into a sort of muscle twitching shock. For the fifth time today, vomit poured out of my mouth voluntarily. Ok, I think I had a connection here. The electricity convulses my fluids out of me. Not my fault, theirs.

The door squealed loudly as it slowly opened up. The overdone cape was enough give-away. The thick spiked boots that crunched against the floor was another. And finally, the words "Hello, daughter." were the last giveaway. I picked my head up and glanced up at my father, the only reason I was in here.

My court case was fast and simple. I was sent to a couple shadowwraiths for medical treatment. Then I was dragged to the War Room for interrogation. And by that, I mean questioning. The Queen, the Warlord, and the Shadowmasters were all present. As were all the Shadowblades. It was a very crowded room. The Queen started by saying, "What were you doing inside the royal shadow chambers? The very thing our captives used to escape?"

I allowed a small breath to escape, showing my own remorse about it. "I found the dead bodies in the woods. I knew where they were trying to go. How they found out about it, I don't know. But when I got there, they were just getting ready to leave. I charged in and the battlemage shot me with several volts of lightning. I guess it was just to slow me down enough for them to escape. When I tried to get up, they were already gone."

Everyone bought it, except daddy. He crossed his arms. "No daughter of mine would go down so easily. If you really wanted them, you would have used all the forms we taught you to do so. You led them there, you let them escape. And then you covered your tracks by having one of them hurt you, but non-lethally." He stepped up in front of me. He slammed me in the stomach. "You are a shadowblade no longer." He pushed me into the hands of two shadowscales, saying, "Your preliminary execution hearing will begin in three weeks' time. That night, after you are read your non-existent rights….you will be shot for treason."

Looking up at my father now, standing in my cell, I know what he wants. It's been three weeks. I guess today's the day. The day I die.

He looked down at me, somewhat curious, somewhat lost in thought. I can understand. If I was put in the position to kill my only offspring, I would want to reflect first too.

"You remind me so much of your mother. Your feathers, your spirit." He smiled and started walking around. He glanced at me. "Your love of Khajiits."

I scoffed. "Yeah…sure." I shook my head, my neck muscles still tight and twitchy from the shocks I took. My throat burned from all the acid coming up and down lately. I really needed some water.

He glanced down at me, looking curiously at me again. "There…has been a change of plans. You have a…chance to redeem yourself. You've spent time with the battlemages, correct?"

I nodded.

"You know the 4th Battlemage Group…led by an Altmer by the name Erandur. Correct?" He said, stepping forward, crossing his arms.

My thoughts started turning. Erandur. I remember reading reports about him. He was the friend of Vatu. They were in the same training program. So that would mean that Vatu was with them.

I found myself smiling. That itself was an answer to my father's question. He bent down, looking me eye-to-eye. "There have been some talking going on between the Queen and the other nations. We're all rallying here in Argonia…the last safe place in Tamriel. We're forming an alliance. I am creating a special task force, a…Shadow Squad. I want you to lead it. If you say yes, you'll leave this room and get your old quarters back. If you say no…well…there's still the execution hearing today."

I didn't even have to think about it. I nodded and said, "It would be an honor to serve you, my Warlord." _At least until I can escape with my friends._

"Good, because I have entrusted Shadowmaster Julanza as your watcher." He replied, a sick smile growing on his scaly lips.

_Ok…or I will just be killed the second I even think about leaving._ Still, at least I won't die in here today.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Well, should have more soon. The other book gets updated tomorrow, I hope. We'll see if nothing crazy happens._


	17. Ch 17: Soul Chamber

**Cearbhail:**_ Ah yeah! New personal best. For so many reasons. Ah...I can't...won't...spoil it._

_(takes a deep breath) Enjoy._

* * *

[Nakuma]

_Shadow journal entry 1,_

**_Shadowwraith_**_. An Argonian witch/wizard. They are masters of the arcane arts and are placed in squads of shadowscales and shadowblades. Their primary job is to assist with the missions using magic to locate traps/persons ahead. If in case a shadowscale is captured, the shadowwraith is tasked with either freeing the captured shadowscale or eliminate them. If a shadowscale is injured in combat, a shadowwraith must render Restoration aid to said shadowscale. That is our job, support. We are support: the quiet voice in the back of the squad that does a lot but never gets recognized for it. Using our mystical arts, we can also: see through walls, detect every being anywhere nearby, conjure food, turn everyone invisible, and teleport everyone out of a hotspot. We are the backbone of assassination squads. Sometimes we have to do the assassinating. But you'll never hear about it._

**_Shadowscale_**_. The soldier of the Argonian army. Specialized army: assassins. They operate as the backbone in the assassination squads. They do all the grunt work. They are nothing more than know-it-alls about the body and the many thousand ways it can bleed. Very barbaric in nature, strong-willed, hate shadowwraiths, and have a fondness for causing pain to anyone not a shadowscale or a shadowblade._

**_Shadowblade_**_. The squad leaders of the assassination squads. Shadowblades are specially trained shadowscales and shadowwraiths crossed-trained into the other's field of study after 10 years of service. Once they master the other shadow arts study, they become squad leaders operating their designated squads. They are very knowledgeable and have no hatred of either side. They understand both sides of thinking so can easily explain orders to each side of the squad with no problem. They also take on separate assignments with shadowmasters when the target is too strong for shadowscales and shadowwraiths._

**_Shadowmaster_**_. Just what it sounds like. They are shadowblades that have served for 20 years, or in the case of some naturally gifted Argonians, born into their role. They are the royal guard of the Queen and Warlord. They also take on solo assignments across Tamriel, doing high level espionage, assassination, and magical studies. They are the top level of all Argonian shadow arts. No one can beat them in a fight, unless you take every shadowblade alive and throw them against one shadowmaster. Then it might happen._

_Nakuma, Shadowwraith-in-training_

_…_

I closed my new shadow journal and closed my weary eyes. I leaned back in my chair, taking in a sharp breath. Just one more week. Just _one_ _more_! In one week, I would be done with all this training and become a full shadowwraith. There was only one more training simulation to go through. If I survived that, I would become a shadowwraith. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

The desk in front of me was covered with several books on incantations, alchemy ingredients, soul-forming, and sprit-weaving. The soul-forming book gave me the structure I needed to start my shadow journal. You can't just grab a journal and start writing in it. It must first be imbued with your soul. It has to be a part of you. That's what I just did. It took my first step to creating a shadow journal. Now, I just had to keep it alive and in turn…I would stay alive…in memory at least. Every shadowwraith has to make one. When the shadowwraith passes on, the shadow journals are collected and put in the shadow-arcania. We often refer to the shadow journals and speak with a 'ghost' of the owner. They have all the memories of their lives and give personality/memory driven answers to questions. It's almost like talking to the real person, only these are memories and not ghosts.

"Are you ready for the final trial?" Oleeme said as he rushed up to me. It was close enough to make me jump back, grabbing my shadow journal and shoving it into my chest. He had a giant smile on his lips. He always smiled. I clutched my journal closer to me. If he got any closer and he saw this thing…he'd probably snatch it. He's always like that.

Just as I had predicted, once his eyes narrowed onto my journal, his smile curled upwards, becoming a mischievous sneer. He snapped his fingers and suddenly a bright light flashed in front of my eyes. I screamed out in minor discomfort and threw my hands up to cover my now-blinded eyes.

"Yoink." He said casually as he snatched the journal off of my lap. I still couldn't see anything but I stuck my hand out anyway. If he was going to be so persistent in teasing me, I was going to have to hurt him a little.

"Give it back or I'll set you aflame!" I screamed to the empty air. Oleeme chuckled in response. "Fine!" I said, thrusting my palm out, willing fire to scorch the air in front of me.

I could hear the fire roaring in front of me, but Oleeme was laughing while he dodged my attacks. Every time I heard his laugh change, I directed my other palm over to him, to blast him. It wasn't lethal fire, it would just burn his robes enough to where he'd be coverless. Then the other shadowwraiths would see him in his underwear and he'd run off embarrassed. Classic revenge.

"So, your first entry into your new shadow journal and you choose to typecast our different squadmates?" He asked. "For my first entry I chose to write about my experience in this training program."

I rubbed my blurry eyes, finally getting some of my sight back. I blinked again and again, but each time my vision grew blurrier. I closed my eyes and sighed. "So, what did you write then?"

"Oh? Hmm, mostly about the countless hours I spent in solitary confinement. Some of it was about the other hours of the day where I was _not_ sleeping because I had to master spells that could shatter lesser minds." Oleeme's voice took a darker tone to it. He hated this training. Hell, he didn't ask to be born in the shadowwraith training program…none of us did.

We were born into our role, as were the shadowscales. Pretty much every Argonian is born into their role. I was born under the Mage sign. That birthsign meant that I was…born to become a shadowwraith. Each birthsign had a different job required of it. Well…some signs were very flexible. One sign could open up several fields of study. Like the Lady: cooking, cleaning, laundry, basic maid stuff. All Argonians born under that sign were servants or common folk. Those born under the Tower were standard security/peace officers. They patrolled our pathways, barriers, and towns keeping the peace and keeping out intruders. The others were a little more confusing. We had some Rituals who joined us, but most others were trained as healers. Oleeme was born under the Atronach sign. Realistically, he was supposed to become a magical guardian. A peacekeeper of magical studies, or an investigator. But he was here, outside his normal training parameters. We needed more shadowwraiths that year. Argonian politics are like that.

I opened my eyes, finally able to see again. My pink scales on my hand were darkened from blasting so much fire magicka. I thought I had built up calluses but I guess I just burned them off. I squeezed my hands into tight fists, happy to feel that my hands weren't cramping up. I had a nasty habit of overextending my magic on Oleeme when he annoys me.

Oleeme stood in front of me, all smiles, his eyes glued shut in anticipation. He was waiting for me to school him. Too bad there was something he said earlier that still rung somewhere in the back of my mind. "Wait…what did you say to me when you walked up?"

He was about to answer my question when we heard, "Ghoul Nakuma, Ghoul Oleeme! Don't dawdle about! Your final trial has come. The Soul Chamber awaits." Our watcher, Shadowwraith Gualnzena, walked up from behind a bookcase. She had on her customary purple robes with outstretched sleeves, laced with golden runes on the sleeves. She wore the standard pointy hat that was almost as tall as her. Yes, we do dress in full witch robes and pointy hats. Some of us even learn to fly on brooms.

The Soul Chamber. The one thing that can make or break a shadowwraith. Now, we spent punishment time in the Shadow Chamber. It was a room made in the shadow void. All sound was deafened to nothing, all magic silenced, all senses rendered nothing. But more than that, every thought you had was magnified beyond measure. It was harsh enough to feel through your head even with no sounds in play. It took utter concentration to survive longer than 1 minute in that place. So far Oleeme has clocked more time in solitary than I have. I don't know how he pulls through.

The Soul Chamber was a completely different animal. It was not in the shadow void, but in the soul void. It was a room that glowed in thousands of illuminated colors. All your senses are overstretched and every thought silenced. You couldn't think but instead…you had to feel everything. People changed inside that place. People who hide from themselves cannot hide any longer. It was a place of shattered dreams and lost emotional trauma. And being from Argonia…we all had some massive emotional baggage.

Oleeme glanced over at me, his browless eyes arching in anticipation. "Ooh.." He said spookily. "the Soul Chamber. Seriously…how bad can it be?"

Gualnzena smiled through her tight yellow skin. She nodded and said, "That's the spirit, Oleeme. Keep that up and we'll make a good shadowwraith out of you yet." She patted him on the back and looked over at me. "His turn is next. Yours will follow. Meet us by the Soul Chamber in one hour."

Oleeme chuckled. "Yeah, see you in one hour."

I couldn't help but get a shaking feeling that…I was never going to see him ever again. I couldn't explain it, but something was going to go wrong.

…

[Nexa]

"This is where you will sleep. Your footlocker is at the end of the bed, as you'd expect. Your suit of armor is being crafted currently. Since you are the daughter of the Warlord, you get the specially crafted weapons of your liking. You are also up for Shadowblade promotion if you succeed in your first mission. Even if you lack the title you will be doing playing the role of Shadowblade. If you listen to me, do as I say, you'll be back to your shadowblade rank in no time…dear daughter."

I obediently nodded to my father as he hovered near my bed. The bed was the same as I remembered it. Boring black sheets made of a rubbery silk. Bland dark green comforter made of the same material. It was the only material that didn't stick to our scales and did not tear when we shifted our weight or when we moved. The footlocker at the end of the bed was almost as big as me. Inside would be all the clothes I had before I left on my adventure to the Arcane University. Nothing but normal Argonian trampy teenager outfits that were probably deemed 'unbecoming' of a member of the royal family'.

My father looked at me, hoping to draw out some sort of reply. So, I nodded and brushed my long purple feathers away from my eyes. "Thanks, Warlord."

He hesitated before nodding. "You have one hour before your hearing starts. Dress appropriately. Don't you even dare showing up wearing anything other than the dress I ordered for you. If I see you waltz into the royal chambers wearing your old…unbefitting clothes, you will be put back in chains before you can blink."

I nodded again. "Yes, father. I understand."

He trudged out of my old room and I found myself sinking onto my bed. I closed my eyes and just let my back sink into the soft cushion that used to be my bed. It was the most comfortable thing I've put my butt on in ages. Considering I've been chained to a wall for the past two weeks, the chains only being slackened when I was eating…anything would feel good right now. But this was special, this was the bed I slept in as a child. It sure felt good to be home, in my old room no doubt. He wasn't kidding when he said that I got my old chambers back. I did, my childhood room. It used to have a roommate, Brixcausu. He was one of the shadowwraiths in training. Something happened to him right before I left for the Arcane University. No one would tell me what, but it involved his final trial. Being trained outside of the classic schools, I never knew what the shadowscale or shadowwraith camps were like. I had homeschooling, direct training from the shadowmasters themselves. Needless to say, my training was probably harder.

After I let a few slow breaths escape, I curled up in my sheets. I don't know how long I just lied there, wrapped up comfortably, but within what I thought were a few minutes there was a knock on my door. I sat up and called them in. The door opened up and a few maids rushed in with my dress. It was a very formal militant dress. It was a simple dark purple dress that was as curvy as I was. It was the type of dress that no one would wear casually, only to very formal events. I wondered how long my father had been preparing it. Probably since he threw me in jail. Either that or he had it made just a few minutes ago.

The older maid bowed to me and said, "It is a pleasure to serve you again, Princess Nexauvia."

I bowed to her and smiled. "Beautrishu, you know me by now. Call me Nexa."

She bowed lower. "I cannot do that, Princess." She smiled deeper and nodded to me. "Is there anything else you require?"

"How long until the hearing?" I asked as I started feeling the light silky material that made up the dress. Like most of our clothes and sheets, it was made from the same silky/rubbery fabric that wore nicely against our scales and spikes, as well as the swampy water that was always around us.

Beautrishu looked back at the younger maid and the younger maid whispered something to her. She must have been new. New servants are usually afraid to speak around royalty unless it's for official business that can't be handled by the older staff.

Beautrishu looked back at me and said, "The hearing is not scheduled today. Something came up and they had to cancel it. The note denotes the schedule change. Pay close attention to it, Princess. You have physical training tomorrow with Shadowmaster Julanza. He insists that you get a good night's sleep."

The fact that my hearing was cancelled filled my heart with joy. A night to just relax. My stomach twisted just as fast as I realized that I was free tonight. Beautrishu heard my stomach growl and bowed. "Yes, milady. I will bring your usual. Anything special you wish to request?"

I nodded to her. "Yes, I am hungry for some Senchal noodles and Corinth style steak."

"Ah, feel like eating Khajiiti cuisine tonight?" Beautrishu said with a knowing grin.

I hid my smile by turning away. "Something like that. Ok, ladies, you're dismissed."

Both of the maids bowed in unison before backing out through the door.

Once they were out of my new old room, I turned my attention to the note attached to the dress. If I remembered what Beautrishu said about this note, it was a notice about my new training schedule as well as my reassigned execution hearing. Well, previous execution hearing. This hearing was more like a reinstatement hearing. Father was going to address the court with my new position as a shadowscale upholding a shadowblade's role. Since I was royalty and he the…well…Warlord, he could do anything he wanted. Hopefully the more politically active parties wouldn't take this chance to burn me for a supposed crime that I cannot be honestly proven to have done.

I pulled the note off my dress, and I could tell it was Julanza's handwriting already. Once I opened it, I could easily read.

_Princess Nexauvia,_

_Tonight's hearing has been cancelled due to the Queen saying she wanted the night off. It is scheduled to mid-afternoon, three hours after our morning workout. In your footlocker, you will find all your trampy clothes replaced with actually training attire. If you want your trampy clothes back in one piece…do not miss a single assignment, do not give any lip, and do not fail when I tell you to succeed. I will see you bright in early by the shadowball court. Be there before sunrise. You know the usual time._

_Shadowmaster Julanza_

_…_

The sad thing is…_I_ do remember our scheduled time and _I_ do remember the shadowball courts. Ah man…tomorrow was going to suck.

…

[Vatu]

"Vatu, have you filled out your request form yet?" I could hear Davilia calling from behind me.

Just as soon as she had asked me, I had just filled in my signature. I held the piece of paper up for her and she snatched it from me, glancing down at it with curiosity. "Armor component request: one suit of leather size 8, Khajiit friendly, 10 pounds of refined malachite plates fitted to armor. Request you just send me material, I will take care of making the suit. Ahh…" Davilia said, nodding to the attached drawing of me wearing a basic construction of a leather-suited armor with bolted on glass plates. "This looks good, Vatu." She pulled out her drawing and pointed to her picture. I could see the very stylishly pointy but rounded curves of her armor. "Mine's going to be black leather with ebony. Ebony infused with moonstone to make it lighter, at least."

I looked over at Primrose and Nisha. They were both still working on their drawings. Primrose would draw something and then scratch it away, angry that she wasn't so good at drawing. Nisha didn't look like she had a care in the world. She wasn't even worried about armor. She was going to wear standard iron armor, even though I told her about how it pulls on our fur. She didn't care. So instead of drawing her armor plates, she was drawing her new mage outfit. She wanted new robes that would fit with the armor.

Primrose finally let out an exasperated groan and pushed herself away from the form. She rubbed her eyes exhaustedly and said, "I cannot think of anything!"

I smiled at her, somewhat becoming easier now that I've had a couple days of mental rest. "Why not go for traditional armor then? Light silver Mithril with blue fabric and glowing blue runes? I hear retro is coming back in spades."

Primrose seemed to smile to that and said, "You think it would look nice?"

I found myself nodding. "Yeah, I can see you wearing it."

I guess I had fallen for a trap. Primrose pushed off the ground, slamming into me. She hugged me closely and said, "Aw, thank you, Vatu. That was bothering me to no end. And to know that you'll like it makes it even more special to me."

_Ah crap. I need to think before I speak._ I thought to myself as I looked up at Davilia. She just gave me an amused shake of her head as she turned around and walked away.

"I'll leave you two love-doves alone." She said as she started to walk away. She spun on the ball of her foot and nodded to Primrose. "Oh, Rose. When you're done filling it out, deliver it to Erandur. He'll send your request in with everyone else's. Don't forget, it's due tonight or you'll be placed in normal armor."

I was surprised at just how Davilia took to her new role as a squad leader. When I had first met her, she was a quiet, introverted Dunmer who never took her nose out of a book. Of course that quickly changed when we were kidnapped and forced to live through atrocities that made her, me, and Erandur very close friends. Then as we started doing our real training, Davilia started becoming this more confident individual who now speaks with a strong voice and a strong will. There are times when I see her revert back a little. But that's usually when she's reading.

Primrose was just like that too. Shy person who was scared to death of me but now she found reasons to hug me. She saved my life. I think she started liking me the moment I saved hers. Well, there were two examples of that. When she almost fell to her death, she yanked on my tail to stay alive. Then I saved her again when we were hunting. We were fighting an invisible thing on the edge of a mountain. Almost an hour after we killed it, she apologized for how she treated me, just like how she apologized for being so afraid of me the moment she yanked on my tail. And from then on…I think she started falling in love with me. I wish I could return the feeling, but my heart was still warding away that emotion. At the time, I could. But dying changed that. It locked me away in a cage of fear and isolation. A cage that I have yet to break.

I allowed myself to hug Primrose back and for a second I felt a small purr escape my throat. Primrose didn't miss it for a second and pulled me closer to her. "Hear that, Vatu? You're healing. Soon enough, I might have you back."

I guess there was a chance. If only.

…

[Nakuma]

Sitting on a bench for an hour might seem like a good idea when you're waiting for a test, but when that test can cripple you mentally, you tend to get nervous waiting for someone to call your name. Oleeme's trial was almost over and I couldn't wait to see his cheery smile break through the door. Because, if he walked out like the trial was nothing, then I would have nothing to fear. All my suspicions about people changing once inside the chamber would be gone. I could just go in and do it and be done.

So, I sat there, twiddling my thumbs, chewing on my nails, playing with my feathers…accidentally plucked on out by accident. And it was one of my favorite ones as well. This was the lightest pink feather I had grown so far. With my darker pink scales, it felt nice to have a bright pink feather. Now the rest of them matched my scales. Oh well, it will grow back in about a week.

Finally, I heard the door open and Gualnzena walked out. Oleeme followed silently behind her. I found myself standing up to welcome him on completing his exam, but there _was_ something different. I could see it on Gualnzena's face.

So, I looked from her to Oleeme. His eyes glowed with a white power. He stood in a strong stoic stance, his arms limp, and his hands relaxed. A light white aura seemed to buzz off of him. When he directed his gaze to me, there was no emotion behind it. "Hello, Nakuma. I passed my final trial."

I was hoping to see him burst out into his usual self, but he stayed quiet and stoic. Gualnzena could see the tragedy forming on my face. She nodded and directed her stare to him. "It happens sometimes. We get a student with family issues, some domestic violence, sexual abuse…something. It's too much for them to take to relive their past so they…lock up. Forever trapping away their emotions for emotional security."

"But…" I started. "He…"

"He was always smiling? Making jokes?" Gualnzena asked. "Yeah, the more messed up someone is…the more they hide it by making themselves and others happy. And then when it's too much to bear…it breaks them. Turns them into what we call 'husks'. That's what he is now…a husk." She rubbed her eyes in frustration. "If I had known about his past…I would have sent him to counseling before the trial. Made sure he knew what he was getting himself into."

"Wha…" I tried to form the words in my mouth. "Bu-but his training? Is he…?"

She nodded. "Yes, we signed him in as a shadowwraith. He has the potential, he passed his trial. But he…we don't know if he'll ever recover."

I found myself pushing into Oleeme for a hug. Oleeme didn't even budge to return it. I felt so cold right now. He felt so cold.

I shook my head. "Oh, Oleeme. I'm sorry."

"It is not your fault, Nakuma. I merely was not prepared for the trial before entering. You are different, you will pass the part that I could not." He replied, completely devoid of any emotion.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ah, I just leveled up! Level 7 writing skill. Maybe higher, hell I don't know. Finally getting into the nitty-gritty past of the Shadowwraiths. And somewhat what Nexa's life was like before she was a shadowscale. And Vatu's own personal conflict of interest._


	18. Ch 18: Oh crap, oh crap

**Cearbhail:**_ New chapter. Yes, and my skills continue to pull through. I liked this chapter, but after the next one, expect the time lapses to change. After Nexa's hearing and Vatu's armor arrival, I'll skip over to what happened during the day of well..you'll see soon enough. I've referenced it enough times with Huir and Sosia._

_Enjoy._

* * *

[Nexa]

The image in the mirror was not one I had seen in a long time. Me…in a dress. The last time I had been in a dress like this, I was being announced as a shadowscale. Or when I was entertaining our guests during the random shadowmaster promotion ceremonies. Those days were always boring and I wanted nothing more than to rip the dress off me and leave the party, but…even though I was a child, I was not allowed to misbehave. A princess must act like…a princess during every formal event. And our family does a lot of formal events. Each that includes bringing the lovely Princess Nexauvia. I always had to come along because my father would just look big and intimidating if he didn't have his little dragon sitting on his shoulder, speaking to people in a squeaky/scratchy voice. I was his little political sweet-talker. Back when the two of us actually got along.

Looking at my dress now, I can see why people liked seeing me so much. I didn't really pay much attention to it back then, but I can remember now the meetings I had to attend when some of the other royal families around Black Marsh: whether they were rich retired Shadowmasters (which are crowed as knights, thereby making their families royal for three generations), or minor royalty running one of the other towns. In some cases, the older men came just to look at me and how I 'fared'. I had no idea that they were silently weighing me as a political wedding with their offspring. I had no idea my father was actually planning on marrying me off to some random Argonian rich boy when it came time to do so. As a princess, it would inevitably be my duty to do so. Become Queen Nexauvia. And the boy I would be married to would become the Warlord…well until he passed away. Then our son would take that role if he was old enough. That was Argonian placement. That's why dear Father was Warlord.

My dresses were always a form of purple. I didn't know why, I thought it was because our culture liked hiding in the shadows or something and purple representing shadows. I can see now why that wasn't the case. My light lilac neck scales with my darker purple feathers complimented any purple colored dress. Seeing how this one looked on me, fitted perfectly to my starved/deteriorated body…I still looked fucking beautiful. My skin might have been pale, my curves a little…showy (I mean my ribs are showing through the dress and my hips look sharp instead of round). But even with my malnourished body, this sparkly dress helped take the attention off of it.

I took my eyes off the mirror and forced myself to take in a deep breath. My body shifted in all sorts of pain. It hurt to breathe today. Why? I just spent all morning flashing. It's a lot like running, only so fast that people can't see you do very well. You're just gone in a flash…hence the term: flashing. Yes, Shadowmaster Julanza was very polite to me this morning. I only had to flash-dodge his shadowballs. Oh yeah…the shadowball court. Shadowball is a very popular sport here. It involves throwing these really light but very painful balls at the other team. You start with an uproar of maybe 10-50 people, only 30 balls and…all-out war. You can't cross the line into the other's boundary unless everyone has retreated past another line. Once the other team crosses the line, you can't cross yours anymore. The game goes on until everyone from the other team is dead…I mean, defeated. Well, dead is a good term. Usually, it can happen. If you're hit in the face.

That was my morning. Shadowmaster was chasing me around, flashing faster than me, pelting me with shadowballs he made with his shadow magic. They exploded…a lot. And I was very slow, hungry, and out of shape. And I did it for four hours without stopping. If I stopped, I tasted shadow magic and a very hot/freezing cold flash of fire would spread throughout my whole body. My life would flash before my eyes before _I_ could flash away. If I somehow escaped the pelting of exploding shadowballs, I was happily visited by Shadowmaster Julanza's fist. It made a very nice home against my face. Somewhere under my cheek and above my jaw.

So, my face was pretty heavily bruised. But luckily, I still have cover-scale. Cover-scale: for the teenage Argonian girl who gets abused by family. Best-selling Argonian beautifier product on the market. It took almost a whole bottle of cover-scale to make my face look the light green that it usually is. The purple skin puffs I didn't need to cover at all. They looked bloodier than usual but this wasn't some wedding dinner that my father planned. This was something else.

So, I checked myself in the mirror one last time. My dress wasn't wrinkling in any way; my body looked more or less like a skeleton. Give it a week and I'll round it out. When I was satisfied with my mirrored reflection, I strapped on an arm-sheathed circle of throwing/fighting daggers. They were close to 8 inches long and I had six of them. It was hard to secure it on my shiny arm, so I just tore the sheath off and tied one of the daggers to the top of my arm. I had to have at least _one_ weapon. I took two poisoned bo-shuriken and twirled them through my longer feathers in the back of my head. Hey…it's not like I'm nearly bald. I have a lot of feathers. Most Argonians have a full head of feathers, others don't get that gene and get spikes instead. I had both. Very small very dull spikes near the front and back, but mostly covered up by my purple feathers.

Once I had secured all the poisonous gory weapons as I could conceal on my very frail body, I left the room and made my way across the palace. The palace was just as beautiful as always. Dark blue walls with black runes scratched along the sides. It was for protection. The runes helped reinforce the idea that no one could just teleport into the palace, even if the barrier surrounding the whole city was destroyed. Of course, the palace was underwater. Most of the entire city of Lilmoth was underwater. Argonians did not need to hold our breaths underwater so…we knew that our capitol would be safest if it was underwater. We only need to worry about warriors carrying enchanted weapons, or spellcrafters. And we could handle both. But what we couldn't handle were massive waves of countless drones busting our windows. This was more spread out and in our control. We were the fastest thing underwater.

The servants were quick to get out of my way as I pushed myself as fast as I could go down the hall. It was a good thing the war meeting was in the war room and not somewhere outside the underwater castle. I don't care is cover-scale is waterproof, it smudges. And I don't want to show up to the meeting dripping wet. Sure it was ok in Argonian circles, but I have a feeling that this was not just going to be with Argonians. Something about what my father said to me during dinner last night told me different.

"So, this is a construction of the world?" That sounded like my father.

I walked up to the door to the war room and paused before knocking on it. What did he mean by what he said: construction of the world?

"Well, I'm afraid it's more complicated than that. You see…in order to create this image, the Aldmeri Dominion used advanced magic to make the moon disappear into an astral realm for a month while we made a similar device that transmits a very focused image of the world. It was a very tough project, with the citizens of Elsweyr growing very anxious about the disappearance of their moon deity. We returned the moon as quickly as we could and began putting focusing crystals around all of Tamriel. The transmitter from the moon and from the other transmitters is what creates this very focused map of the world." A very serious eloquent person replied, calm and relaxed.

"Ha! So, you're the person responsible for all the moon-worshipping cats going crazy?" My father started laughing. "I'm beginning to like you, Fiirnar."

"Oh, yes. But don't tell our friend the Mane about that. It could shatter our little alliance that I have pulled together for you. You know that the Khajiits would have never agreed to join you for this war council without my suggesting it." Fiirnar said. "And if what you shared with me is correct…we need the allegiance of the Khajiits to find this temple inside Elsweyr."

"I'm not complaining, Fiirnar. I appreciate all that you have done for this war council already. I had never thought that it would have been possible. In fact, this council will only exist because of what the battlemages shared with both of us. We are in agreement that the council will take place here in Argonia, correct?" Father said.

"Everyone is in agreement: Black Marsh is the safest location in all of Tamriel. The Aedra have ignored your region so far and the Aedra, according to a report from an…Erandur Ocato, seem to limit themselves to above water. They chased him into a river and then stopped trying to attack him. So, everyone will be safe underwater. The Aldmeri Dominion are building fall-out buildings under the ocean as we speak. The other war councilors will be here in a week to set up the terms of the alliance. After that we will decide how best to deploy our resistance." Fiirnar said.

"Princess Nexa! Quit hiding behind the door and get your ass in here, now!" My father screamed from the other side of the door.

His voice was very demanding and I found my shoulders and back tensing up from being caught. I let out a silent groan as I pushed the door open, forcing my eyes to take in everything that I could see. My father stood near the end of a round mahogany table. In the middle of the table stood a large blue ghostly image of Nirn: our world. I froze in the doorway as my eyes darted around the map. There were a lot of red dots swarming the map, but it looked randomized, like the dots didn't know what they were doing, just flying around in the arm. Swarming underneath them (on the planet itself) were combinations of yellow, green, and white dots. It only took me a few seconds of studying the map to discover what every dot meant. The red were obviously Aedra. Red being used for enemies and since the red dots were flying around, it only made sense. There were way too many white dots to be fighters, so I had to guess that they had to be civilians. The green dots were organizing around pockets of Aedra. They had to combatants. And the yellow…not sure. Maybe they were healers.

Father shook the cape that flowed behind him (he's so melodramatic) and stepped up to me. He waved me to look over at the imposing looking Altmer standing near the other side of the table. He was dressed in the most dramatic looking leather overcoat I've ever seen. He was not being subtle about his 'badassness'. I met his incredibly white eyes for a second before I nodded to him. He graciously bowed back, letting a sinisterly sweet smirk poke through. He walked up to me, undressing me with his eyes. "Well, well. I've heard stories about the Shadowblade Princess Nexauvia. But…I had not expected her to look so…famished." His eyes turned harsh and then glanced over to Father with a set of judging eyes. "This is the leader of the Shadow Squad you referred me to as your 'special task force'?"

Father nodded. "She may not look like much but she makes up for it with spirit, determination, and intense _loyalty_." He growled out that last word. His eyes might not have betrayed it, nor could his voice. But that word was directed at me. He was lying about the whole thing to this Altmer. Father was built on lies. He would never tell the truth to anyone he considered an enemy. He meant for me to hear this. To tell me that I was on thin ice, to play along with him, and to know that this elf was not our friend. Devious as always, but I understand his motives. Father will always be known to me, after all he taught me all of this when I was a hatchling. "My daughter has been on a long assignment that has left her with little food. She had to survive on nothing more than water and snails for the past two years." He looked back at me and gave me that subtle look. _Don't deny it._ "She is a true fighter of Argonia."

Fiirnar glanced over at me and looked skeptical. "If you say so, Warlord." He directed my gaze to the giant floating orb of the world and smiled. "Do you like my present to the Warlord as a symbol to our new alliance?" He asked me. "It's a new device called an astral map. It can see just about anything on this thing. The Aldmeri Dominion have tapped into the magicka of the world, using it as an amplifier to create a massive image of the world. Crystals that transmit vibrations are read through the airwaves of magicka, hit other receiver crystals set up around Tamriel, and then transmit to the moon, which plays a massive factor on the shifting pools of magicka. The image is sent to this combination of technology, alchemy, and magic. We can see _everything_." He said with amusement.

My eyes finally drifted around the chamber. There was no one else here, but the Queen. She was sitting comfortably on her throne, her left hand resting comfortably on her cheek. She looked bored out of her mind, well…more bored than usual. She was glancing down at me with indifferent eyes. I was used to her looking down at me like this. To her I was a traitor, just like Father suggested.

Looking around the room, I didn't see anyone but Shadowmaster Julanza standing near one of the corners. Where were all the Shadowmasters? Or the Council of Shadowscales and Shadowwraiths? All the Elders? This was not the type of meeting I thought I was going to be a part of. What the heck was I doing here?

Father grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from Fiirnar. He pulled me close to him and said, "Listen, daughter. You have to pretend to be back from an assignment. Your hearing begins in one hour and I've made sure that the Council will not mention anything about your imprisonment during your hearing. You will be congratulated on accomplishing a spectacular mission. The reason being is that Councilor Fiirnar will be present to witness the birth of the Shadow Squad. We will go over the narrowed list of shadowscales and shadowwraiths. The majority of the Elders and the majority of the Council have agreed to use fresh recruits for the Shadow Squad. They will be perfectly programmed to receive instruction and act accordingly. Not to mention they were all still in training when you betrayed us."

I rolled my eyes. "Believe what you want, Father. I did not betray the country. Even if you accuse me of helping the prisoners escape, even doing so does not make treachery. The highest penalty is not reason for prison break is not death, it's tailing. And you know that."

He smirked. "Are you saying that you did? Do you want me to chop your tail off?"

I shook my head. "I know just how badly you want to punish me for something I did not do. I stand by what I said. I went after them and they attacked me. The battlemage woman left me alive because I pulled her and her students all away from the Aedra massacre."

His eyes hardened for a second. "There are holes in your story, daughter. One of them being one of your knives recovered in the woods where a couple shadowscales were killed. A knife that was given to you…from me and it was lodged in the neck of a shadowscale. And while prison break is a tailing, murder of a shadowscale is death. I kept that evidence to myself to keep the Council from killing you. I thought a few weeks of being tortured and slapped around would straighten your mind. Now…you have a chance to redeem yourself. Prove that you will place the mission about your feelings and you will come home alive. Fail and I will send for your heart."

I was frozen in my spot. Father knew all along that I had fought alongside the shadowscales. I thought he was speculating that the whole time. I had no idea he actually _knew_! He if had used that knife against me in my initial hearing, I would have been killed by now. He had me by the tail. He could show that knife to anyone on the council and it would be all over Argonia before noon. And my head would be on a pike before one.

Father broke my frozen state of mind by snapping his fingers. "Just play the part and you'll be fine. Tonight we're announcing you back to the rank of a shadowscale. It's a downgrade to your previous rank, but you know that drill by now." He crossed his arms and smiled. "Are you ready for your trial?"

"Just one question: Do we already know who are going to be on the Shadow Squad?" I asked. I wanted to know who I might have been paired up with.

Father shook his head. "No, we don't. But I have talked to the Shadow Magic Institute about the newest shadowscales. Its seems that only two have successfully made it through this semester. Now, one of them has reached sage-like ability with the consequence of losing part of his emotional soul, while the other has become scatter-brained and a little out of it. They seem bipolar opposites but they refuse to leave each other. So…they're both being assigned to the squad. It seems like a good balancer. I've already seen their records and met personally with them. They are perfect."

What the heck? One of them has lost their emotional soul? What the heck does that mean?

…

[Nakuma]

"What the heck does that  
mean?!" I screamed to the healer.

The small bubble that qualified as an observation room was filled with me, Oleeme, and Pakinla. Pakinla was a sweet black-skinned Argonian that was born under the sign of the Ritual. She was a powerful healer that was well-known for figuring out every reason for any disease or magical aliment. Right now, she was explaining to me about how Oleeme had to fight his inner emotions to remain sane. He became insanely powerful to overpower his emotions and actually locked them away inside a magical barrier that he could not detect let alone break through.

Pakinla gestured over to Oleeme and sighed. "Nakuma…I've told you this six times already. He can't feel emotions anymore. Well, he can…but to a very limited amount. Whenever he becomes excited, he immediately shuts down any feelings. It's a defense mechanism. If he allows himself to feel anything, he thinks that he might revisit the things he witnessed inside the Soul Chamber. I hear that you didn't exactly escape unscathed either."

I shook my head. She was right. That chamber was exactly like everyone said it was. Very quiet but very colorful and every emotion was expanded. I never realized that I had feelings for Oleeme until all that worry about him redoubled onto me while I was inside that chamber. It pushed down on me, every thought about him and how he clambered out, not being the Oleeme I knew before. It kept pushing and pushing until I cried myself dry. The hour I spent in there was crushing but when the door opened, I guess I passed. I don't know how I passed when all I did was lie on the floor, crying my eyes out. But apparently failing involves a full breakdown. When you become so stressed that you cease to function (potato). The failures are killed after a month of rehabilitation. Well, killed if they don't recover. We were the only two to immerge functional. We were in a class of 10. What happened to the other 8?

I looked down at Oleeme and reached out for his hand. I was surprised when he didn't refuse to take it. He just grabbed onto it and gave my hand a small rub with his thumb. He glanced up at me, his eyes glowing a dull blue. "I remember that this used to stimulate me in ways I could not explain. I can explain it now, but it's useless to do so. Love…such a useless emotion." He shook his head. "And to think I fooled myself into thinking that I deserved such an aspect. The life of the abused is not to be happy, just pushed until broken."

I shook my head, fighting tears that were crawling up. "Not true, Oleeme. Just hang in there. I'm sure you'll come back one day and then…maybe you'll find a reason to be happy."

There was a knock at the door. I turned to see one of the Shadowmasters standing in the doorway. "Shadowwraith Nakuma Vaqonala, Shadowwraith Oleeme Puparammanx. Your presence is demanded."

"Why?" I asked a little disapprovingly. We just graduated…our ceremony wasn't for a week. What could the Shadowmasters need with us?

The shadowmaster smiled through her facemask. "You're being tasked to the new Shadow Squad. Tonight we are going to have you meet your new leader, shadowscale Nexauvia Frazviani."

My scales turned cold. _Frazviani_? The head royal clan…the master royal clan…in Lilmoth? On the other side of Black Marsh? Oh man…this…I…

…

I took a deep breath as I smoothed my best dress robes as best I could. I reached up to check my feathers. Good, they were still attached to my head, and they were still bright pink with yellow tips. Good. I reached down to my dress robes and found that I had formed wrinkles from where my hands were clamping down on the ends of my sleeves.

Oleeme stood next to me, dressed in a similar dress robe. Full length dark blue dress with patterns of the birthsign Mage all over. He didn't look worried and he responded to every question with a full answer. The most I ever got was 'Well, uh…it's not an easy thing to think about...I mean, uh…hmm…good. I feel good, uh..thanks for asking.'

"Shadowwraith Nakuma." A loud voice scared me. I jumped and squeaked, dropping the glass of fruit juice that I had been sipping from. The glass of juice landed on a pair of spiky combat boots. I slowly started to look up from the combat boots. There was a long beautiful cape, strong looking body armor, and a heavily scarred green/browning face that was now glaring at me. He glanced down at his boots. He glanced back up at me and I could see him snarl. "I was informed that you are the shadowwraith being assigned to my personal squad."

His personal squad? Oh crap…is he?

"I'm Warlord Zeelius Frazviani." His voice crawled out like rocks in an avalanche.

I froze in my spot. Oh crap, oh crap. He was going to kill me…I just knew it. I spilled my drink all over his boots. I was so dead. One just doesn't spill their drink at the feet of the most powerful royal Argonian in the world. It's just…stupid.

When I didn't reply, he scoffed and looked away from me over to Oleeme. "And you as well, Shadowwraith Oleeme."

Oleeme briefly nodded. "Yes, I was informed of the transfer. It will be an honor to serve you. Nakuma and I both appreciate the responsibility that you have allowed us to burden. We will gladly serve Argonia as the prime examples of the personal squad of the Warlord."

Warlord Zeelius glanced over at me one last time before turning around. "I'm sure you _both_ won't let me down. All it takes is _one_ to make all of Argonia a fool. And your missions will be broadcasted across all of Tamriel's leadership. Don't. Screw. Up." He walked away, his boots squeaking on the floor. Oh crap…oh crap. Everyone was going to be watching? Oh crap…oh crap…

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ha, Nakuma...my fun little screw-up._


	19. Ch 19: Blood boil

**Cearbhail:**_ Finally! Jeez, that crappy Cearbhail and not posting things faster. I mean...really. Stupid college classes and midterms...distracting as hell. Well, I'm back and here's a new chapter. It wasn't really all about midterms. I had writer's block whenever I sat down to this so it was like a paragraph every time I sat down to it. but...tonight...done._

* * *

"Princess Nexauvia Frazviani. Please step forward." The Queen's voice quietly shouted over everyone's casual chatter.

The ballroom was filled with all the Argonian royalty, as well as all the graduates from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Regiment from the Shadow Sword Academy. Some of the most influential Argonians all from across Tamriel were present, as were some of our new Altmer buddies: the Thalmor. There were just a few of them, only a small group. Fiirnar waited up by the Queen, standing by her throne as if he was an advisor.

The room fell into a quick silence. I started to look around at all the eyes that were training on me. Me and my perfect purple dress. I found myself scanning the room for anyone I remembered from my childhood. I saw some of the fat cat Argonian politicians that my father tried to marry me off to. A few of them scanned my body like it was a prize. It made my stomach turn.

I held my breath as I started stepping forward to meet the Queen. Sitting in the large U shaped table that began at the Queen's throne and ended near the center of the room was the Council. All 13 the political masters of Argonia. 5 of them were elders, some of the oldest and noblest of minds, elected by their peers. They were usually retired shadowblades or shadowmasters. 5 of them were the five region representatives. You know; the five regions that Argonia split up into. The other 3 were shadowmasters. The three elected every year. Shadowmaster Julanza was sitting in one of the shadowmaster seats today. He watched me carefully as I stepped up quietly to the center of the table.

I finally settled to the center of the table and glanced up to the Queen. She didn't sit up on some huge throne that towered over everyone. No, she sat in a regular throne so that she could see me eye-to-eye. Seeing my grandmother should have been like a blessing, but she never really liked me. She was like that grandmother that looked down at her grandchildren as spoiled and useless for anything. That was our relationship. I tried to please her and she complained about the small things that I always did wrong.

The Queen glanced at me and gestured me to kneel. So, I kneeled.

"Princess Nexauvia. We all welcome you back from your training assignment. Your absence however has not gone unnoticed. Our training has taken a massive turn and as such your previous rank of Shadowblade has been taken from you. It is not due to any failure performed by you, only that your training is now less than that of our standard shadowblades. Your rank will be returned to you once you can convince us that you are still the standard."

Wow. That was quite the lie but it slipped so casually from the Queen's mouth that you'd think that she was being serious. She held her tone neutral like she was reading off of a piece of paper, but for her to create such a lie was impressive. Let alone to keep every Argonian within the room from busting out laughing. I wonder how long this has been set up for. How long ago they started silencing protests. This was something that was never done…unless I didn't know about any other cases. I wonder how many other Argonians became black ops like this.

The Queen blinked at me, allowing me to take in everything she said. "Now, Shadowscale Nexa. You have been briefed on your new assignment. You will go through training again until you can perform natural assassinations. Upon completion of your training, the initiates that we will discuss tonight will assemble for your first mission debriefing. It will still be a few months, however. The candidates are still in training and won't be graduating for quite some time."

"Then why not select current shadowscales?" Fiirnar asked from his little table. His fellow Thalmor all started nodding in agreement.

My father almost smiled as he stepped forward. "For obvious reasons. My squad is the finest of all. I want fresh recruits, not the lazy ones that stop their training only months after leaving the academy. Not to mention, it will take a while for Shadowscale Nexa to complete her new training. In that time, they'd become only weaker, older. Maybe one of them could break a leg. Then we'd have to select a new member, brief them, give them special training. No, we've already let all the academies know what we're looking into. They know the potentials and are preparing them now. Tonight, all the academies will get the final notice of who made it into the Shadow Squad. Those individuals will be singled out and given special training. That way, they're ready to go once they graduate."

Fiirnar only nodded. "Sounds reasonable."

"Training already trained shadowscales is harder than teaching a new mind that hasn't finalized their training. Less time consuming." My father finished with a shrug like it was obvious. I guess he had put a lot of thought into it.

Fiirnar nodded again, this time impatient. "Alright, I understand. You don't have to convince me of anything."

_If only you knew the truth._ I thought as I looked at Fiirnar over my shoulder.

I directed my gaze back over to the Queen as she started talking to me. "Shadowscale Nexa…eyes front." When she had my eyes focused on hers, she nodded lightly. "I understand you've had more down time than we should have allowed, but you must focus now." The Queen looked over to the Warlord and nodded. "Time to examine the recruits."

The Warlord nodded in return. He waved to the giant floating globe and said, "Recruit 1." Some shadowwraith waved his finger and the globe shifted. A face of a blue-scaled shadowscale with cropped green hair popped up within the clear globe. "His name is Ram-ku Olanda. According to his Drill Shade he is very fast but…soft. He has advanced reflexes and can escape any situation with little trouble. There is a draw-back, though. He's not enthusiastic about killing. Not innocent people at least. I'm sure he'll have no problems with Aedra or anything else we have to target."

The Queen nodded. "He sounds fine. Fast, evasive: those skills will come in handy when there are thousands of Aedra shooting energy bombs everywhere."

I nodded in return. "I agree. We'll need someone fast on the team. If he can move that fast, he'll make a great diversion."

The Queen sighed as she looked over the floating picture of Ram-ku. "I want to know more about who this Argonian is before I sign off on it."

The Warlord nodded. "Right. Ram-ku: born from the Shadow birthsign just like any shadowscale recruit. The first one from his family, in fact. But his family was from outside Argonia, in Hammerfell. So, when our operatives within Hammerfell tried to get the child at the collection age, there were…complications. Alik'r slavers found out about the child and what it could mean to them to have it as leverage so there was a massive inside war for him. When the arrows started falling through the family's farm, the shadowscales in charge of collection took him and ran. And they ran…and ran. It's why he's so good at running. He had to run all the way from Hammerfell to Argonia, while hiding from Alik'r soldiers. He does have some psychological problems with Redguards, but it won't stop him from operating alongside them. He has a 'mission'. He wants to reclaim his family's honor and kill the slavers that killed his family."

The Queen nodded. "We can arrange that. We have some Alik'r targets that the Shadow Squad would be perfect for handling. Fine…I agree to keep him for now."

Warlord looked over to Fiirnar and said, "Now you can see how we choose our candidates for our squads. We go over the finer details: skills. Not picked by numbers, nor gender. We pick based on skill and upbringing."

Fiirnar nodded. "That is good. I like the way you choose your operatives. I was born into my role as were most of the higher up Thalmor. I do wonder though. How many more of these operatives are we picking through?"

"12." The Queen responded. "We have 12 more to go through. Ram-ku is the first one I'd decided to keep on the roster. We go through and I select who's worthy of continuing through the process of elimination. Once we've reviewed everyone we 'like'. Then we'll start picking through the smaller details: test scores, progress reports. Only after we're done will the final three be concluded."

Fiirnar grabbed his eyes in exhaustion. "How long will this take?"

The Warlord shrugged. "12 hours, usually."

Fiirnar groaned. "If we're going to do this…I'm going to need a cup of coffee first."

Normal shadowscale squad screenings could take days and this was not just any normal shadowscale team. For all we knew, we could be here for a couple weeks just looking over the same information until we came to a solid conclusion about who would be on the Shadow Squad. But Father already told us...we wanted this done now, tonight. So that meant… "We're all going to need a _lot_ of coffee before the night is done." I replied.

…

[Vatu]

Time: early in the morning. How early? So early that when my eyes opened up, my body screamed for me to pull the covers back over my exposed fur and close my eyes. When I pulled the fur sheets back over top me, I heard someone moan from not too far away. At first I thought it was my sister, moaning in her sleep, but then I remembered…she doesn't sleep in my tent. No one does but me.

My ears flicked up, ready. My body tensed. My breathing hardened. I was alert. Why? It was probably in the middle of the night and Primrose and Thomas were on watch detail tonight. I thought that it was because I was cold…and I was cold. I was shivering, but that was not enough reason for my body to be shaking like this.

I heard the moan again. It was louder, closer. It sounded resentful, hungry. My nose twitched and I felt the stench of decay fill my nostrils. Dirt dragging along the ground with one strong stomp filled my ears. As soon as I heard the one moan, I heard other moans. They were further away, different tones. My mind was still half-asleep. I was still in paralyzed stasis. I thought I was dreaming.

I had dreams of things like this. Zombies. I had fears of them chasing Nisha and I as we were running around ruins to find some treasure that I could use to keep the two of us alive for another day. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that I was dreaming. That there was a zombie standing over my bed, looking down at me. I could feel its gaze upon me, analyzing me like a piece of warm blood and stretchy meat.

My eyes started opening up and I could see the zombie looking down at me. My body reacted before my mind did. I was up on my feet, snatching the zombie by the neck before anything else could happen. The neck of the zombie snapped in half as I pushed my hand hard against it while feeding Frost magic against it. The zombie's body crumpled underneath me, his head already a solid block of ice.

I stood there for a second, allowing my sight to return to me. I was breathing heavily, my body starting to pull me back down to sleep. But I wasn't done yet. I could hear more of them further behind me. Because I was the scout, my tent was further away from the rest of the tents. If I detected any trouble, I was supposed to shoot up a flare. I don't know if that would attract more of them of if it was too late. Protocol was clear. I had to fire a flare.

I heard heavy boots running towards me and I spun to face the opening to my tent. The front flap flapped open and Primrose came rushing in. "Vatu! We've…" She looked down at me and her face blushed over. She spun around and screamed in a high-pitched wail, "Vatu! Put some pants on!"

I looked down remembering that I tend to take my clothes off before I climb into my bed. Primrose, being who she is, would be easily startled over seeing me without any coverings. She does have strong feelings for me and she is very shy. I tried to hold in a chuckle but it escaped. I continued laughing as I grabbed the pants sitting near my sleeping mat and slipped them on. I finally caught my breath enough to turn to face her. "Primrose, I'm dressed now."

She snaked her right eye around, carefully glancing down at me and my pants. When she confirmed that I was decent, she spun around and grabbed my hand. "Vatu, come on. The camp's under attack. Necromancers have decided to take this opportunity to attack us before we get to Cloud Ruler Temple."

I looked down at the headless zombie corpse. "So, that explains the zombie invasion."

"Yeah. The Worm Revolution. That's what they are calling themselves. They are the remaining necromancers from the King of Worm's army. According to what we've figured out, they've had a field day with this war: collecting all the dead bodies from all the devastated cities…making zombies and thralls. They have an army and they're growing their numbers every day. They feel confident that their army is now big enough to attack what left of the Mages Guild. And they're beginning with us…"

Primrose began pulling me out of my tent and the cold bitter air bit me hard. I groaned as my exhausted body fought against it. As I started pulling myself back into my tent, Primrose started pulling me back. "Vatu?" She called in surprise. "Get out here! We have a war to fight."

"No!" I called from my tent. "It's cold out there."

"Then use your fire magic to put up a shell of fire energy around you." She screamed to me.

At first I scoffed at that idea, but it was a simple enough thing. And I didn't even need fire magic to do it. All I needed was a ring and my spirit energy. Looking around my tent, I didn't find anything so I thought I'd improvise this time. I pulled a shoelace from my old iron boot that I never wore anymore and wrapped it around my wrist. I fed some of my spirit energy into the 'bracelet' and made it take the form of cold-resistance. My new bracelet held the energy nicely and I felt all the cold banish itself from my body.

I pushed myself out of my tent, already smiling at Primrose. "Ok, I'm ready."

She started sprinting away and I followed from behind. "Just remember something: I don't have my ring anymore. If I get too enthusiastic about shedding blood…I'll lose it." I screamed to her. "If I do lose it, just run away. I doubt I can control it."

Primrose smiled and glanced back to me. "I saved you once, I will do it again."

The sight in front of me was amazing…from a certain point of view. Magic explosions left and right, zombies moaning out in the hundreds. I could see my comrades sending everything they had into keeping zombies at bay while the civilians being transported with us huddled in a singular group in the middle of the camp.

I could see my sister among the younger children, all huddled together, screaming at the zombies. It made me growl to see her so terrified. I vowed she would never need to be scared again. I was going to protect her.

Just like that, my claws grew numb, my heart skipped every beat. My eyes became useless. I stopped thinking overall. I stopped seeing things as they appeared. I only saw threats and non-threats. Attachments and non-essentials. Things I loved and things that needed to die. I saw only death. My claws latched out at anything I hated. My breath roared out into a massive fire and frost that tore through bodies in front of me. Electricity flashed off my claws, helping me rip through things that were not in front of me. My ears helped me track all the movement I could afford to not see.

Images of my sister trapped in a zombie's body filled my thoughts. Images of seeing my father's corpse lying in front of me, massive tears in his flesh, his fur stained with blood. My mother's corpse next to his but she has no head. I can see it further away, smashed up against a wall. Images of my sister crying as she curled up into my chest, asking me to bring them back, to make her pain go away. This was all I could see: pain, death, things I wanted to change. Things I needed to fix. Things I could have fixed if I had this gift earlier.

The images fueled my will to shred and rake. I ran through rows and rows of meat-sacks with every intention of killing the next thing behind it. For every life I took, that was one less life to threaten my sister, my friends, my family. I slashed and slashed, feeling blood gush on my face, hearing screaming and moans fill my ears. The entire time, I did not breathe. Then, suddenly, my claws didn't find anything to tear through. I stopped feeling threatened. I stopped seeing targets. I only tasted blood and I could only smell guts. The images of the past started fading away. My pain faded away. My sight returned.

Looking around, I could see that the entire camp was lying on the ground. I was the only one standing. I looked around for any movement at all. I didn't see any. There were nothing but bodies littering the ground. I could see zombies, civilians, soldiers, necromancers. Did…did I kill everyone?

My body seized up in terror as I looked around closer. I didn't recognize anyone within the camp. This wasn't even my camp. How long had I been out? How many people had I killed before I didn't feel threatened anymore? I didn't know.

"Vatu?" I heard Davilia scream from a distance behind me.

I spun around and looked for her. She was sprinting through the dead bodies as fast as she could to come find me. When she spotted me, she held her hands out carefully and said, "Vatu…it's me…Davilia. I'm your _friend_, remember?"

I nodded. "I'm back to normal, Dav." I rushed up to her, screaming, "What did I do?"

"You killed everything." Davilia started to say but then she looked away slightly enough to make me worry. Then she shrugged. "Well…except us and the civilians. But anyone within a mile radius of our camp was slaughtered by you. We couldn't stop you because we knew that attacking you would only trigger our own deaths as well."

I looked down at the ground. "So…I did all this?"

She nodded. "Yes, you did. Well…that's not true. The necromancers did this. Everything you killed was either already dead or enslaved by mind control. You saved everyone's life by going all crazy Khajiit."

I looked down at the shredded bodies of all the children and animals littering the floor. I did this…I did this. The lifeless children lying near my feet, the women and men holding hands as I ripped through their throats. I killed them. My fists clenched up. Those damn necromancers. They controlled all these people just to attack us, to provoke us. And I killed them all like an animal. I needed to control this better. I needed to become more emotionless.

Davilia looked back over to me. "Vatu. We need to hurry. We're only a few hours away from Cloud Ruler Temple and if we don't hurry, we might be looking at an Aedra strike force. The last thing we need are you and Aedra killing each other above our heads."

I nodded to her, actually smiling. She had a point. The last time I was in the air with Aedra, there was a massive explosion that killed every last one of them.

"Ok, Dav. But one more thing before we return. Every time I go out of my mind, it lasts longer. How long was it this time? How long was I out of control?"

…

[Nexa]

Fourteen hours. That's how long it took us: fourteen hours. But now it was over. We had our list. The final three recruits selected from the 13 we originally picked.

The room within the fourteen hours of this process was always changing. The Queen would pass out in her chair every few hours, my father would leave to go pee. I would leave too, as did everyone at least three times. We had four pots of coffee going off every few minutes. We had meals delivered. Most importantly to make all this finalize, the adults all had to get heavily drunk. What started as a civil discussion about statistics vs. personality became a loud scream-fest that sounded something like this:

"Well, think about it. She has dark purple scales and she specializes in poisons. She obviously has some family issues to boot. I say…what the hell. So what if she killed another student over a sweetroll." That was my father.

"Well…I think…I think…" That was Fiirnar. "I think I…need another glass of wine before I drunk that I concede."

And then there was the Queen, who was too busy spinning around in her chair to remember what we were doing. The shadowmasters and myself all stood in our spots, keeping our heads as level as possible while the drunk adults screamed to each other. As it turned out, I got my father to select the candidates that I thought were the best: Ram-Ku the evasion specialist; Meesei, the poison specialist; and Vistha, the most convicted cutthroat we could find. All together it was a pretty good team. I was glad my father was plastered. It was easy to convince him with my logic vs. his drunken demeanor.

And now, I was lying in my bed, happy that tomorrow…there was no training. Shadowmaster Julanza has decided to take tomorrow off…to let his head clear. Love adult parties…I always got the next day off.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Man, I thought about having Vatu imagining slashing a zombified Primrose and then feeling a very warm embrace of pure love. Then he would have woken up to find a bleeding Primrose in his hands, his claws embedded in her stomach. And then...cut off to Davilia. But...We all know she's alive anyway so I decided a more civil route so I can get back to the real story. But...who says I won't do that scene later? 0_0_


	20. Ch 20: Bloodshed mystery

**Cearbhail:**_ Hmm, this chapter is getting pretty close to where my references keep coming to. You'll see what I mean by the end of the chapter. Well, anyway. Enjoy._

* * *

[Warlord Zeelius]

"So, what am I looking at?" I asked as my eyes darted around the screen.

My most trusted shadowmaster, Shadowmaster Yuvenni, pointed to the hovering visual of hundreds of dead bodies. Everything in a mile was a corpse. I could see the bodies of children, skeletons, necromancers, mothers, fathers. I could see a lot of dead stuff lying on the ground. "The aftermath of the Bruma Massacre. Scouts were sent in yesterday to collect data on what happened last week."

This new floating orb was wonderful. It produced a wonderful picture of all of Tamriel. It allowed me to zoom in as close as I wanted, even see through walls if need be (although it would be spectral form). This was the ultimate tool of spying. I could easily conquer the world with this orb…and the Aldmeri Dominion gave it to me as a present of our union. The damned fools.

Even though I loved this thing, there was one troubling discovery. If I have one…they have more. That was always the name of the game. Only give your allies what you no longer need. That way, you're still superior to them. So, if I have this, I wonder what they have over me.

"So, what did our scouts find?" I asked in return. This was troubling. There were over a hundred dead civilians, people who had no quarrel in the war, and they were killed by something other than Aedra. Whoever did this was already on my 'dead' list. If I ever found out who allowed these people to die, I would kill them myself.

"Six shadowwraiths were found slashed to pieces. Four shadowscales, and even three shadowblades. They were the squads assigned to track and supply intelligence on the necromancer resistance group forming." Shadowmaster Yuvenni replied back, emotionless.

It was like her to respond so casually about such a massacre. She was one of the shadowwraiths that responded negatively to the Soul Chamber. She lived locked up in a bottle of her own emotional defenses, never letting herself relax for a second. I had tried to set her free from her restrictions, but helping her usually ended up working against me. I won't explain why or how.

"Did we find out what happened?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "There were no survivors that we could speak to, sir. We did find blood, though. Lots of it. There was a trail from where it began to where it ended. Whatever it was, it was only one thing and it slaughtered 45 innocents, 79 necromancers, our 13 shadow warriors, and 256 undead lackeys."

I shook my head. "I would mind it if those numbers were only necromancers and their undead lackeys. Actually, I'd probably invite the person to join us. But…to kill innocent civilians and OUR troops…that's unforgiveable."

"What would you have us do, sir?" She asked.

I had to think it over. Whatever it was couldn't be stopped so easily. But, I couldn't let this slip by while the trail was fresh. "Patrol the area where the blood began. See what you can find. Send another squad to follow the trail that lead from the end of the original trail of blood. See where it goes. We'll see what happens then."

Shadowmaster Yuvenni bowed to me. "At once, Warlord." With that she vanished into a portal of darkness.

I continued to stare at the hovering image of the whole area. It was as zoomed out as it could get while keeping everything as close as possible. I couldn't see any individual bodies. I could see buildings that were leveled, mounds of corpses, and then a giant scar of blood that stained the whole ground in a dark red image. Something had caused this massacre and whatever it was…could just as easily do the same here.

Fiirnar, who waited silently near the corner of the room, rubbed his chin while glancing at the image. "So, what do we know? Why were the necromancers there? Who was there to stop them?"

I shook my head. "We don't know. That's the problem. There was a story here and I _don't_ know it." _And it doesn't involve Aedra._

"Sir, I see Aedra approaching from the west." Shadowmaster Yuvenni replied over her transmitter.

I could see her location as a ping on the map. So, I pulled the map away to see what she was referring to. It took me a little bit of pulling back, but there it was. It was a massive wave of red. A giant cloud that was slowly approaching the bloodbath that was the Bruma Massacre. That wasn't all I saw. There was a massive collection of white north of Bruma. I zoomed in on it to see what I believed to be Cloud Ruler Temple.

"Well, do what you have been instructed to do. If the Aedra come too close, leave. Don't worry about your assignment if there is a chance you could be killed. Got it?"

"Yes, sir. I understand." Her voice was emotionless and compliant. I know her team would get as many answers as possible before leaving. "The Aedra are moving more north now. They aren't heading to us."

"I know." I said. "They're heading to Cloud Ruler Temple."

"Shall my team move to intervene?"

"No, let them attack." I said back. I had no love for the Blades and they made my life more than unnecessarily hard most of the time. Not to mention, if I let some of them die, it will push their superiors to join our war council. Up until now, they had rejected joining us. They thought that they were better off not throwing away their hiding place to fight this war. They were doing this by the easiest method: waiting out the storm. It's what they did best: wait. Now, let's see how fast they act when they can't hide anymore.

…

[Vatu]

"So, the necromancer says 'Summon a lich?' I thought you said, 'Summon a bitch' …"

Everyone started laughing and falling to the floor as Thomas finished his joke. It was one of those long jokes that you couldn't possibly begin to understand without being able to hear the first two paragraphs of dialogue.

That was our life at the second: jokes and waiting. We finally made it to Cloud Ruler Temple with the survivors from the necromancer invasion four days ago. Even though I killed a lot of people, we still found plenty of survivors and brought them with us up to Cloud Ruler. Once we had arrived, we were ordered almost immediately to go down to the Imperial City and offer any help we could to the surviving Imperial Legion. It was being run by Vilena Donton, the Guild Master for the Fighters Guild. She was the most experienced leader of fighters in Cyrodiil and was using her fighters and what remained of the Imperial Legion to host a protection program within the Imperial City. It was mostly done from within the sewers, but she did her job well.

We had already made it to the Imperial City and had found the sewers. But we still haven't found the resistance yet. So, while some scouts were out scouting and making sure we were goblin-free, the rest of us were enjoying a quiet moment to relax. I originally wanted to go help with the scouting, but Dav and Prim were really serious about keeping me relaxed until we found some reinforcements. She didn't want me to go crazy.

My sister hugged me as she started falling asleep. For as much as she loves to prove how 'grown up' she is, she still can't resist curling up in my lap to fall asleep every night. Having her grab onto my arm and purr quietly as she falls asleep reminds me why I fight so much. I need to protect us from whatever might try to separate us. I was almost the reason a week ago. If I had even as so much gotten any closer to any of my friends during that fight, who knows if I would have targeted them too. It's not like I can control it. It's getting worse every time. The first time I did it, I almost killed Thomas. The second time, I was able to direct myself to the liches. The third, all the Aedra. Last time, I killed more than just necromancers. I couldn't distinguish the enemy. When it's liches or Aedra, it's obvious. But my brain does not separate humans and undead. Especially when the undead are run by humans.

Crassi, my squad leader, was happily sharpening her sword with her Alteration magic, while Thomas continued to tell jokes to the other battlemages in an effort mostly to keep me calm. I know this because he looks at me almost at the end of every joke to make sure I'm not turning red-eyed. Everyone is on edge with me around now. Everyone but Erandur, Davilia, Primrose, and my sister. Sometimes I wish that Jurard was still with us.

I started to close my eyes and I felt myself drift off. It had been a while since I was able to sleep like this. Even though I was in one of the crappiest places in the world, it felt like nothing bad was going to happen today.

…

[Huir]

"What's on the menu today?" I knocked on the steel bars that separated me from my guard. It was that time of day already, my stomach told me so. "Gruel, paste, or lice?"

My guard actually smiled at me. "Huir, your jokes are always welcome in this stale hall." He passed me a plate of green goop and a wooden spoon. "Miracle paste." He said. "Meant to keep you alive and healthy so that you can live long enough to hate your life behind these bars…" He stopped at the end and sighed. "At least, that's what they tell me to tell you. It's only mushed up lettuce and spinach."

I took the plate from him and nodded to him. He was my favorite guard, Iver. He was one of the battlemages assigned to watch over the civilians held within Cloud Ruler Temple. Or course, I've been here for well…I believe the Oblivion Crisis was three years ago so maybe three years. I've lost track of time behind these bars. I thought I was getting a good deal by joining the Mythic Dawn. I had no idea what they were planning, but the Blades don't care about that. They only care that I was at the Battle of Bruma when we tried to invade Bruma. They only cared that I had a bow and fired it a few times while in the heat of battle. I was protecting myself. Mostly from them. And now, I'll be locked away for eternity. I have come to terms with it. At least I had a fun prison guard to chat with. More enjoyable than Jauffre, the steel wall or his constipated Blades.

"So, what's been going on the past few days?" I asked him. I haven't heard a word as to why everyone was suddenly dying and places exploding until this guy showed up. This crisis was new to me and I've only had a few weeks to digest it. I was trying to come to terms that someone else had begun a new war.

"The convoy leading civilians here was attacked by necromancers. Our leading fighter went berserk and killed almost everyone. Some of the civilians here are very resentful of the event but are happy to be in the last safe haven of Cyrodiil."

That was when I heard the bells chime. Those bells, they were the warning bells. They only went off when attack was confirmed to happen or if the temple was being evacuated. I pushed away from the bars and ran up to my tiny slit of a window. I jumped up and down as I tried to glance out at the courtyard. I couldn't see much but what I did see were robed things flying up in the sky. I jumped back from the wall as I remembered hearing about them. "Aedra."

Then…the ground shook. A lot.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Huir was a prisoner...of the Blades? And he was a member of the Mythic Dawn? Wow...what else does this guy do? And how does he become involved with the battlemages?_


	21. Ch 21: Glass Arrow

**Cearbhail:**_ This chapter took me a while. I knew what I wanted to do with it, but I wasn't sure how to do it. But, it's done now. Next chapter will be the deciding factor and probably the end of the past exposistion. I'm not sure.._

_Enjoy._

* * *

[Huir]

"Iver, what's going on out there?" I yelled as loud as I could.

Trying to look through my small window was harder than usual. I was relying more on my elven ears than anything else right now to tell me what was going on outside. And what was going on outside was chaos…that was all I could call it: chaos. The air was crying with elemental energy, an energy that I could taste in my mouth. I may not be an Altmer, but I can still recognize the taste of Restoration magic on my tongue.

The screams of people ripped through my eardrums from all sides of my walls. I could not place the location of every screaming person since it all sounded like it was coming from my window, but I could tell it was almost everyone. And finally, my fine nose which has spent years upon the sea, could smell the tang of death, the smell of iron and blood.

Looking up at the bars, I could not see any faces or people running past, but I could see the occasional orange-robed creature flying up in the skyline. I was too short to reach the bars, even if I jumped and these bars were magicka-jammed. I could not cast any magic within this cell.

I turned my head away from the small window and scanned the hallway for any guards. "Iver!" I called out. All I got in return were the glaring eyes of the other prisoners.

"Hey, Wood Elf. Shut up for once." The Redguard Alik'r called from the cell across from me. He rolled his eyes and settled back down on his pillow. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Don't you hear that outside?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but I also know that I can't leave unless someone blows up my cell. So, until something happens that affects me…I'd rather get some shuteye…because I can't do anything anyway."

I had to admit it, but he was partially right. We were trapped in our cells with nothing else to do but wait for our deaths or possible escapes. And there wouldn't be any possible escapes if everyone was dead. Our only option was: wait for a surrounding wall to blow up and then run away, or…die of starvation inside our cells. That was only if a guard didn't happen across with keys and an escape plan.

"Mages! Collect the women and children. Take them down the underground pathway. Get them to the safety of the underground bunkers." A loud voice boomed through my small window. I could tell it was magically enhanced. It sounded like the commander for the battlemages, Hans.

I paced around my cell for the next few minutes, glancing up at the walls. I could hear the Blades and battlemages going at it with the flying angels of death. I didn't know much about Aedra or how they operated, but with how I hear how they end lives…I expected this to battle to end a lot sooner. There were still plenty of people outside screaming orders, children crying, other people screaming in pain. My elven ears are strong enough that I could pick up the dying lot whispering lost names while they choked on their last bit of air. I'd seen it happen while out at sea, while the Battle of Bruma took many a lives.

It happened to my old friend, Faragus. We were dragged into the Battle of Bruma and while he gladly decided to tackle the new Emperor of Cyrodiil and his army, I only fired if I needed to. I stayed away from most of the fighting, relying on my Restoration magic to create a viable shield against magic and arrows that whizzed my way. Anyway, Faragus was sliced by Jauffre. It wasn't bad, just bad enough that he turned around, clutched his side, and limped/crawled back to me for healing.

When he arrived back, I moved my shield in front of him while I started healing him with my other hand. In order to do this, I had to drop my bow. So…we both were weaponless, and the enemy doesn't care about two kneeling opponents. "Mercy breeds dead allies." It's an old Imperial saying. They learned the hard way what happens when you let your enemy recover. They allowed the elves to escape under the promise of not returning. Well, just two days later all the slaves were punished and tortured for months on end when the elves they let escape came back with another round of soldiers.

So, in light of that knowledge, while I bent over and fed him healing magic to fix that wound of his, a volley of arrows slammed into us. My shield had been weakened since I had to focus on healing. The arrows tore right through it. One of the arrows slammed into my shoulder, another landing perfectly in my leg. Three arrows scored on my buddy: two just barely nicked him; the third was stuck in his lungs. It was a perfect landing by my accord.

We both lied there, almost motionless. I had lost any ability to fight. That arrow in my shoulder had something laced on it, some paralyzing agent. I think Faragus had one too. I could only look up at the sky, but my ears still worked. I could hear Faragus panting heavily, sniffling. His pants turned to light groans, his breath becoming softer. I could even hear his heart slow, his breath…almost dead quiet. Then…when I thought he was gone, I heard some sounds. Names. I didn't know the names, but he was calling out to someone. That's when I looked over to him. I wanted to see what he was looking at.

Faragus's eyes had become soulless. They weren't directed at anyone in particular. He glared up at the sky, mumbling the name of his wife and his daughter. In that final second, I saw him shed a tear and he stopped breathing. He had died. It was at that time that the battle ended. All the gates blew up and out of some separate portal comes the most annoying Imperial I've ever seen: the Hero of Cyrodiil. Back then we just called him the Mythic Dawn Impersonator. Broke into our house and killed our family. Bloody bastard.

Those were the sounds I was hearing now, the sounds of lost souls crying out for their loved ones. They wanted to be held, or see them just one more time before they left this world. Or maybe they were escorting them, I don't know. I've never had the pleasure of going on such a ride. I'm a farmer, turned sailor, turned somewhat into a vigilante that went around killing slavers, turned vigilante that wanted to unite the world…that ended up being a Daedric cult bent on destroying our world (go figure, right?).

When I realized that pacing around my cage wasn't as productive as I thought it would have been, I sat down on my bed. The sounds were starting to become less and less. It was then that I heard heavy footsteps raining down the hallway. Every prisoner stood up and ambled up to their cell doors, looking for the person running to us. Me? I just sat on my bed, glancing at the door.

"Listen prisoners. Hans the Hardy and Jauffre of the Blades is extending an offer. You can either join the fight outside and gain amnesty for your crimes, or you can join the evacuation in chains. Your choice." Iver called out.

I smiled and stood up. After living in this cell, thinking about the consequences that brought me here in the first place, I knew my answer already. I was a fighter. I never really lived the quiet life and in fact, preferred war to running. I only had one bad mistake and that was the Mythic Dawn. This was my redemption, I knew it. "Sign me up, Iver. Hand me a bow and I'll show you why they call me 'Glass Arrow'."

…

The battlefield was just as bad as I thought it would be. Bodies of almost everything imaginable littered the ground. Blood of all colors melted together in some sort of sickly brown, covering the stone in a small pool. Blades and battlemages ran around frantically trying to fight an enemy that soared above them. There were still plenty of civilians trying to escape. I guess a few minutes wasn't enough to get everyone away.

Oh yeah…It's only been three minutes since the bells chimed. I'm just easily bored and time seems to stretch out for me. Being in a cage will do that to you.

I glanced down at the bow in my hands. Beautifully crafted longbow, my personal weapon. They kept it in storage…not like they were ever going to let me leave anyway. Iver had told me that these creatures were weakened by fire and oil. In a sense, they were victims to burning oil. I remembered old lore about how angels can't touch burning holy oil; I guess this oil becomes holy when added with magical fire. Makes sense in a weird round-about way.

The arrows they gave me were state of the art: hollow-tipped slender glass arrows. They were hollow-tipped because inside the glass was a small shot of oil. The glass tip was enchanted to conduct into a fire blast upon impact with Aedra. I don't know how the mages did it, but with a couple dead bodies to experiment on…it's amazing the things you can find out about your supernatural baddie. Well, these arrows made a nice clean 'boom' upon impact with the Aedra. I couldn't wait to test that out. And…I had 200 arrows. Today's my lucky day.

Iver stood in front of me, glancing back at everyone that joined us from the prison. All six of us. He nodded to us and said, "Welcome to the fight that will set you free…I guess." He shrugged and nodded to Hans. He was the giant guy with golden armor and a flowing cape. Tallest man I've ever seen…and he had a trimmed beard. Very magical, that guy.

Iver walked us all up to Hans and nodded. "Sir, these are the prisoners that have agreed to fight alongside us."

Hans nodded. He looked at me and said, "You! Listen to my orders. You're a sniper, I hear. Cover my wife while she leads the last of the civilians into the building. Following that…"

The ground behind Hans exploded into a giant wave of dirt. Hans snapped around and threw up a massive shield as the ground exploded all around us. I glanced up as a wave of Aedra raced past us. The wave of angels flew up to the temple and then scattered. Then…I saw the temple explode in several spots. I guess they had bombed it with their special Aedra magic that I heard about. Some form of impact/implode/explode Restoration magic ball.

Everyone froze as we looked at the temple. It creaked but then…it just collapsed. It fell. The temple actually crumbled down to nothing but collapsed walls. And when it fell, Han's hope of escape fell as well. I could see it in his eyes. He glanced over at me and I could see the defeat in his eyes. "Take as many of those flying bastards as you can out of the sky."

I nodded. "Yes, sir."

He turned to everyone. "Everyone, do what you do best…kill things. And by things, I mean the Aedra. I'll be covering the evacuation that's heading down the mountain. Your job is to cover me. Do this and you'll earn your amnesty. Fail and run…I will kill you."

I turned my attention of my bow and my arrows. I reached up and pulled an arrow out so fast that I had already fired it before I figured out what I was aiming at. I saw an Aedra's head rock back and it fell from the sky. When it hit the ground, its head exploded into a bright fire. Then the rest of the body lit up as well, burning away to ashes in only seconds.

My elven ears picked up more flapping robes in the sky. I pulled out six arrows, and one-by-one, fired at the sky using mostly my ears for tracking and my eyes for spotting. Six more bodies hit the ground, six more flaming angels exploded into pixie dust. The hair on the back of my neck rose and I felt that something was going to happen. I've learned in plenty of instances where my neck hair has saved my life. I did not doubt it now. I jumped forward, rolling along the ground. The ground exploded into dust all around me. I could feel it vibrating in my spiritual bones. I was glad I was versed in the use of Restoration magic, because I could feel it crashing all around me.

I rolled back onto my feet and snapped myself around. I could see eight of those Aedra flying above me. Time seemed to freeze. My hand snatched up I don't know how many arrows. And I fired them just as fast as I had snatched them up. All I remember is crashing on my back and seeing a dozen or so Aedra hitting the ground. Some of them had more than one arrow in them. The ground exploded into magical fire.

I allowed myself to stand up and wipe my mouth off. One of those Restoration orbs had impacted my gut and I had spit up a bit. I'll admit that much. I rubbed my sore stomach and imagined just how bad that arrow had felt to Faragus. If this orb was like getting slammed by a giant impacting rock…what was it like to have something go through your body? Gods, I hoped I wouldn't find out more than once. Sure, having something land in my shoulder and leg might not be pleasant, but having something destroy a lung or a stomach…I bet that feels hellova lot worse.

I heard Hans screaming and I snapped my head around. Hans was running towards a woman who was missing a head. I heard Hans cry out her name and then glared up at the sky. I saw his body surround in a shield of fire. He spread his hands out and all that fire flew off into the sky. The sky lit up in a glorious explosion of fire. Several waves of Aedra burned on impact, others swarmed around the fire, preparing to strike at Hans, I'm sure.

The fire burned away slowly, as did Han's cry. That's when I saw a woman with a very bulgy belly came waddling up to Hans. "Hans, we need to get out of here. We're slowly losing this war."

Hans nodded, waving me forward. I ran as fast as I could to see what he wanted. When I approached, he grabbed me by the shoulder and said, "This is the last order I'm going to give you." He gestured to the civilians. "Take these civilians to the Imperial City. There inside the city you will find the remains of the Imperial Army and the Fighters Guild…as well as the Fourth Battlemage Troop. Find Erandur and tell them that you have been reassigned to them under my orders. Got it?"

I nodded. "Gladly, sir. I'll lead these civilians to the Imperial City and link up with both the Imperial Army and your battlemages."

Hans turned around and gestured to the pregnant woman. "Sosia, you should join him."

She nodded. "Good luck, Hans."

That's when I saw one of the mages run up. "Wait, Hans! I wish to join you."

Hans looked over to Sosia. "Do you mind?"

She shrugged. "He's a big boy. I'm sure he can handle it."

Hans nodded and looked over to the Breton man. "Ok, Adam. Help me distract these Aedra forces with a massive fire blast."

That's when the woman cried out in pain. She grabbed her stomach and screamed, "Oh gods…not now!"

"What?" Hans screamed.

Jauffre walked up, dodging exploding ground dirt. "She's in labor. Quick, we need to get her in the stables and surround it with warding magic."

Hans looked over to me. "You, archer…take the civilians and run. We can't leave until this baby is out of her. The rest of the Blades, mages, and prisoners will join you. Just go, we'll catch up."

I nodded. "Yes, sir." I turned around and gestured to the civilians. "Form up around me. Blades in front, battlemages in the back. Follow me, I know this old tunnel nearby that leads to Bruma." Yup, I remember the tunnel we used to spy on Cloud Ruler Temple. It led to the Battle of Bruma. Another place I ended up. Fate, I guess.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Yeah, Huir was one of the spies that located Cloud Ruler Temple. He's a quickshot, isn't he? You'd think that if he wanted to kill the Emperor, he could have done it. Anyway, look forward to the next chapter. Should be interesting. I bet you'll never figure out how it ends._


	22. Ch 22: Hans' past

**Cearbhail:**_ You know... immediately after writing this...I felt so stupid for killing her off. So very stupid. But I decided that her memory will live on. By making her related to someone that you will all understand soon enough. I'm sure if you read the other stories this will tie it in very well. You'll see. Anyway, please enjoy. OH, and we finally learn Hans' last name. No...It isn't The Hardy.._

* * *

[Hans]

My wife is dead. I was busy shielding a group of archers from an aerial bombardment with a warding bubble when it happened. I shouldn't have allowed myself to be distracted like that. I should always have my mind on all aspects of the battle. She was retreating with all the civilians. War is sick, war is crazy, war is everything wrong when it has a chance to be right. War…this war has killed so many people, for no reason. This war makes no sense, it never does. But people like me exist to keep war as short as possible and over as soon as it starts. I am a warrior, a creature of war. I am hated by all my social peers, looked upon as a barbarian and outcast. I'm only appreciated when it's time for someone to die. I live in a dark world, but…even I have a heart. Her name was Eira, my wife.

I first met Eira one day during a blizzard in Winterhold. She was a daughter of the Arch-Mage and as such, she rarely ever left the safety of the college. I was the son of a farmer, nothing too fancy. No, I was not born as a warrior, kicking and screaming in my mother's womb. No, I was just from a farming family, as are many Nords from Skyrim. Sure, we're still the best fighters other than Orcs, but bloodshed is not our lifestyle, only a means to an end.

It was because that she was the daughter of the Arch-Mage and I a son of a farmer that I was so surprised to see her one day, walking down to our farm. The blizzard was heavy and she had gotten lost while looking for the Imperial Storehouse. I was outside, locking up the cows and chickens. It was supposed to be a very strong storm that could have threatened the lives of our livestock. It was my job to make sure that they were locked up during the times of storms and raids. I was just a young kid back then, not really any worries at all of any kind.

While I was leading the cows into the den, I could see the giant cloud of snow heading towards us. The snow had only just thickened and now the wind had started growing stronger. My clothes were thick enough to keep me warm, but for some reason this wind almost tore my face up. I threw myself into the barn with the rest of the animals. It wasn't a long rush to the house and I knew that I could make it back in more or less one piece. But the snow was so thick that I couldn't see more than a foot in front of me and the wind was strong enough to throw me aside. I was far safer inside the barn with the cows and chickens.

So, I sat there by the door, waiting for the wind to die down. The wind howled loudly as the windows took the frontal assault of the snow, boards creaking as the wind hit against them. The cows and chickens were more or less confused and chaotic. It was amazing that I could hear someone outside at all.

"HELP! HELP!" I heard a light voice cry out from not too far away. It was the beginning. The beginning of my life with Eira.

I noticed the cry for help and walked up to the door. I tried to peek out the door, but the sheer force of the wind blasted it open. I was thrown back as a foot of snow rained down on top of me. It was the cry of the girl that pushed me back up on my feet. I raised my hand to shield my eyes as I stepped up to the flapping barn doors. I peered out but I couldn't see anything, but I could still hear the crying of the girl. I rushed out into the blind snowstorm, charging forward into nothing as I tried to find the crying girl. My lungs cried out in horror as more snow than air found its way to my lungs. I bent down to cough up for some air, but I kept pushing on. I stopped in my tracks to look around. I didn't see anything. It was nothing but a giant moving blur of snow. I didn't know where I even was anymore. And I didn't hear the crying anymore.

I turned around and rushed back. I didn't know where she was, or where I was for that matter. My face started burning from the intense cold wind blasting at me. The snow I trudged through grew deeper and deeper by the second. It started at my ankles but now it was up to my knees. I was only 13 or so, so it wouldn't take too much more to get up to my waist. I needed to get back to the barn; otherwise I'd be buried out here.

It was when I couldn't see the barn that it happened. I felt something smash into me and it sent me falling into the snow. Whatever crashed into me shrieked out in surprise and fell in with me. It took me a second to push my face out of the snow, and I expected there to be a saber cat to be standing over me. I did not expect a pair of bright blue eyes and dark black hair to be staring down at me. She hovered perhaps a few inches away from my face, her bright big eyes filled with curiosity. Even with ragged wind and snow blowing all around us, we still had a few seconds where we were lost in each other's eyes.

When I finally remembered that I was in fact a living person and that the eyes I was lost in were not mine. When I noticed that, I noticed that this girl's body was laying on top of mine. She seemed to notice her position as well so she blushed and pushed herself up off of me. "Sorry." She smiled and stood up. She reached down to take my hand. When I took it, she said, "Why are you out in this blizzard?"

"I heard someone crying for help." I screamed through the howling wind.

She blushed and looked away. "That was me. I…I can't…um…I don't know where I am. And it's getting worse out here. I'm so cold and all this freezing wind is breaking my spell-crafting."

"Spell-crafting? Are you a wizard?" I asked as I looked down at her. She wasn't wearing a thick coat like I was. She was dressed in light blue mage robes. I hadn't noticed it before but she was dressed as a mage.

She saw me looking down at her body and she covered her slightly bumpy chest. "Yes, I am a mage and no I'm not dressed for cold weather." She glanced around, but neither of us could see anything other than giant waves of snowflakes in the air. "I don't know where I am."

I pulled her arm and said, "Follow me. We need to get out of this blizzard before it kills us." If I was freezing in my coat, she must have been dying in this storm. Her robes looked thin enough to keep her warm in normal cold weather, but it looked like it wouldn't help at all in this wind and snow. She proved me right as she started shivering and rubbing her arms. Her face had completely paled and her lips were turning purple. I doubt she could last much longer in this weather.

I started pulling her to follow me. She ambled behind me. I could tell that her limbs were locking up. She couldn't last much longer out here. I had to find our barn, or something at least. Maybe I could find the house. The wind howled in my face caused me to stop for a second. The girl crashed into my back and it forced us both to fall down into the snow. It was finally up to my waist and I was starting to shake. I couldn't last much longer out here.

The girl grabbed onto my back and pulled me close. I could tell that she was barely even aware of what was going on. "Where are we?" She asked.

I looked around. I still couldn't see anything. I sighed and turned back to her. Her face was so pale and her eyes were all but glued shut. She was shaking violently now. I had to do something. I looked at her, taking in her features. She was beautiful and for some reason, I realized that I wanted to do whatever it took to keep her alive. Maybe I was just trying to save her life, or maybe it was something else. But, I grabbed onto her neck and pulled her close to me. I pressed my lips onto hers and breathed some warm air into her mouth. I noticed her reach up to me and she pulled me close to her. Her hands were so cold and I guess that I was warm. She needed to get warmer if she was to survive.

I looked down at my coat and pulled it off. The cold wind hit me so fast that I lost all my breath in the process. The cold felt like razors on me. If I was this cold, imagine what she was going through. I threw my coat over her body, wrapping her up. I picked us out of the snow and I started trudging forward. The snow was still falling fast down upon us and I had to think fast. I settled for just pushing through the snow, the girl following silently behind me. I didn't get far before I had to stop to catch my labored breath.

"Do you hear that?" I heard her ask from behind me. "It sounds like chickens."

I paused for a second, actually holding my breath. The wind howled everywhere, but I could hear just a tiny bit of chickens clucking. It was to the right of me. I smiled and pulled her arm. "Come on! We're almost there. Run, if you can. We're almost out of this!"

I pushed as hard as I could, the girl panting as she tried to keep up with me. I kept pulling her arm, trying to keep her with me. I was not going to lose her. Not like this. The sounds of the chickens were getting louder and now I could even hear the cows mooing. It wasn't long before I could see the open barn door and the lit torches inside. Lit torches: instant warmth. I needed to get there.

I laughed as I screamed back at the girl. "We're almost there. I can see it." I stepped forward but my hand halted. I pulled but I was met with resistance. I glanced back to see the girl was unconscious, leaning against the thick snow. She looked like she was dead. "NO!" I screamed. I turned around and wrapped my arms under her armpits. I heaved and started dragging her along, slowly making my way through the snow. "You are not going to die! Not out here! Not to this!"

I made it to the barn with the girl. I laid her on some fresh hay and raced off to close the barn door. With all the snow built up around it, I couldn't get the doors to budge. It didn't really matter, though. We were out of the extreme cold and as long as we all stayed in the back of the barn, which was adorned with several torches, we would stay as warm as we needed to be until this storm passed.

The girl was still unconscious, but I could see that she was breathing. I had taken my coat off of her since it was soaked in melted snow. I spent most of my time trying to warm her up by rubbing her arms and legs. It was only a few minutes before she opened her eyes and sleepily glanced at me. She half-smiled before falling back to sleep. That smile told me everything I wanted to know. We were both safe from here on out.

I sat down beside her and I found myself beginning to fall asleep. I did not realize that I was worn out. I should have guessed that running around in the snow and dragging back an unconscious girl would make me tired. So, I lied down next to her and closed my eyes. We had enough heat, I was sure that nothing bad would happen to us from here on out.

"Hey." I heard her soft voice, almost a whisper. "I'm Eira Silver-Sword. What's your name?" It sounded like she was whispering in her sleep.

I smiled, allowing myself to fall asleep. "Hans Battle-Born." My voice returned as soft as her whisper. I think we were both dreaming by then.

…

My eyes were filled with tears as I looked down at the beheaded corpse that was my wife. If I hadn't lost my concentration, she would still be here with me. But this was it…she was really gone. Everything I had gone through, everything we did together…was over now. She was gone.

In my sorrow, I reached up with my hands and I willed all my anger to fill the sky, to attack the enemies that had done this to her. My sorrow gladly took the vision of pure blue fire. I watched with tear-stricken eyes as the sky turned a violent blue and orange. The Aedra were feeling my pain and my sorrow. If they could not understand us, they would after this.

"Hans!" I heard Sosia scream from beside me. "Keep those Aedra distracted while I pass this child!"

I blinked and I realized that I was still locked in the past. That had happened several minutes ago. I must have completely lost track of my surroundings because I had no idea how I had gotten here. I have been known to go on auto-pilot when I'm in completely stressful situations. Looking up at the sky, I could see that the Aedra had almost recovered from my outburst a few minutes ago. There weren't nearly as many as there were minutes ago, but there were still too many of them for me to take alone.

"Hans, left side!" Adam cried out.

I snapped around to see Adam Ernard launch off a fireball the size of his body at the sky. A line of Aedra scattered off of their attack as one of their own impacted with the fireball. There was nothing left of the Aedra. Why was this so easy? These foes used to be strong and powerful. Now they just seemed mindless and scattered. The defeat we gave them back at Fort Magicka really threw them into a mindless struggle.

I guess the remaining Aedra were tired of this game of fly-around-and-randomly-attack-the-humans as well. The sky filled with swarming Aedra seemed to come to a stop. Thunder clapped above us and I saw the Aedra just hover up in the sky. A few of them vanished and reappeared on the ground, only a few inches away from myself and Adam.

That second of hesitation was all it really took for Adam to have a flaming sword fly through his stomach. That second of hesitation, I was able to use it to my advantage. I flashed up to Adam's new friend and bashed him so hard in the face with a flaming fist that I was shocked that he still had a head after I was done with him. But there was bad news, Adam now had a gaping wound in his stomach.

As I tried to bend over to help him, I felt a burning sensation over my side. I leapt away just in time for the sword of the Aedra attacking me to graze my armor. As I stood up, I looked around. There weren't many of us left now. It was only me, Adam (who was now dying), Jauffre, Iver, and Sosia (who was giving birth).

"What's going on over there?" Sosia cried out in pain. Her eyes were glued shut as she tried her best to push the baby out of her body.

Jauffre glanced down at Adam, who was feeding Restoration magic into his wound. "Nothing. Hans and Adam are keeping the Aedra busy."

"And then what?" Sosia asked. "We're trapped here!"

"Father!" I heard the soft voice of Merete, my daughter.

I glanced over to the staircase to see her sprinting up to me. I paused for a second but I forced myself to focus on my enemy. "Merete! Leave with the others! Hurry!" I screamed to her. I just lost my wife, I was not going to lose my only child. Not like this.

My daughter stopped an unsheathed her sword. She ran up to me, attacking the Aedra that was attacking me. "Not without you, father!" She ran her sword right through the beast and it screeched out in bloody murder before its blue head rocked back, dead.

Several Aedra fell to the ground and exploded into fiery ashes. I looked to the staircase to see that Bosmer with the bow running back up. "Sir, I couldn't stop her! So, I led the others to the hidden retreat zone and came back to protect her."

I nodded to the Bosmer. "You have my thanks. But now…you have to get her out of here."

I looked up at the sky. There were still so many of them. I don't know how we expected to get out of here alive. Adam was now starting to stand back up, grabbing his chest in slight pain. "Sir…I'm back."

"Good." I replied. "I think we're about to get hit…and pretty hard too."

I looked up at the sky to see the Aedra still hovering there. "What are they waiting for?" Merete asked to herself.

The Bosmer pulled back a few arrows into his bow and glanced up. "I can see one of them flying down to meet us."

I had to glance hard, but I could see it. In the middle of the masses, I could see one of the only white-robed Aedra with a golden sash floating down to meet us. I had enough experiences with one of these kinds of Aedra before. They were dressed differently and represented a stronger version of the Aedra. Like field generals or something. While normal Aedra died under my blades, these ones had a little more combat expertise. I guess the fighting stopped so that one of them could come down and finish us off.

The thing landed on the ground like a meteor crashing into the temple grounds. The ground around it exploded into a giant field of dust and rocks. The ground shook underneath us. It was at that very second that Sosia cried out in her loudest scream of pain yet. "Almost there. I can see the head."

The dust cleared and I could see an Aedra standing in the center of a small crater. With a flick of its wrists a sword materialized in one hand and a locked crossbow in the other. I pulled up my massive claymore and gestured to the thing to bring it on. I can't remember much of what happened. I was suddenly on my back and Adam was screaming out in pain.

The Aedra that had attacked us was now staggering back, four arrows sticking in its chest. It looked over at the Bosmer and its eyes narrowed. With a flick of a wrist, the Bosmer was tossed aside. He flew across the battlefield, landing near the staircase leading away.

Sosia's cries finally died out, but now there were new cries filling the air. "Congrats, Sosia. It's a girl!" Jauffre said.

Adam looked away. It was in that second that the Aedra acted. It snaked forward and ran its sword right through him, cutting him in two. I turned to attack it but was welcomed with an explosion of multiple Restoration bombs from above. My daughter cried out in horror as she was pelted as well.

My hearing was deafened to nothing but loud screeching noises and I could see the Aedra glancing curiously at the baby now in Sosia's arms. Sosia looked worried as she could be. Jauffre was spinning around, unsheathing a daikatana. The Aedra spun him aside like he was nothing.

That's when I heard it spoke. "Mortal. Your child…" Its voice sounded like sandpaper rubbing against a very course rock.

Sosia pulled it back and screamed. "I'd rather die!"

"So be it…"

The Aedra blew up into a thousand pieces. I closed my eyes to shield myself from the explosion but opened them quickly enough to see someone I never expected to see: The Argonian military leader…the Warlord.

He had his hands folded behind his back in a relaxed manner. Several of his elite guards were walking out of a purple/black portal that continued to hold behind him. He glanced over at us and said, "Come, we must leave. Now."

I looked over to the Bosmer and my daughter. Both of them were too far away and I could see the Aedra flying down to meet us. I looked to both of them and screamed. "Get your asses out of here while you still can. We'll be fine!"

For once in her life, Merete listened to me. She took off with the Bosmer, heading to their underground passage to the Imperial City, no doubt. I looked back up at the Warlord, who looked down at us with inquisitive eyes. "Come with me if you want to live."

I guess we had no choice. He was the only way out of here in one piece.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Hans Battle-Born. Married to a black haired spell-slinger. Sounds a lot like Cecilie... oops.. did I just spoil that surprise?_


	23. Ch 23: Leaky pipes

**Cearbhail:**_ This chapter is great. I tried to write it like I write my serious book, with more depth, kinda. Well, we'll see if you guys enjoy it. Hope you all enjoy your holidays and ... good luck for the whole 12 21 2012 thing. I personally believe that anything is possible so I will be on guard. And knowing how people work, someone somewhere will do something to someone at sometime because of the belief that this day will end the world..and it will for someone._

_Oh, and prayers to all the deceased of that tragic day at the school. May you find everlasting peace now._

* * *

[Nexa]

My life had returned to a silent routine. In the week that I returned to training, I had quickly fallen back to my old patterns. I would wake up in my bed, rub my eyes, brush my fangs, get dressed in my morning training attire, and meet Shadowmaster Julanza outside for a few laps around the underwater city. Swimming laps are easy enough but they helped me build my muscle back up quickly enough. After the morning laps were finished, I was tested in combat skills: evasion, reaction time, combat solutions, and of course…fighting. When that was finished, I was allowed to be released to fill my body with food. The servants were more than happy to give me the most fattening and nutritious food we had. Within the eight or so days that I had been back in training, I already had most of my body repaired. I still woke up with cold sweats, thinking that I was back in my cage. I could still feel the electric shocks if I dozed off for too long. It was all in my mind; I had to keep reminding myself. All in my mind.

After my morning breakfast, I was released to my room for an hour to conduct personal hygiene. When that was over, the servants escorted me to Shadowmaster Yuvenni. She helped me catch up on my magical studies. Sometimes I had to be pulled from the studies to join my father in the war room. Some cases, it was merely because he wanted to show me off to his allies that he was collecting. The Khajiit Representative showed up a few days ago and was now getting settled. I was forced in that dress again and I had to present myself to him in a typical Argonian royalty manner. He seemed very cautious of me but accepted my invitation to show him around the underwater city of Lilmoth. It was my job as the Warlord's daughter to entertain our guests while their quarters were ready for them. The Representative arrived three days early. Our Thalmor, Fiirnar, did not tell us about his planned arrival. He just popped up.

But other than that, my days have been more or less the same. After my usual classes with Shadowmaster Yuvenni, I spent time in my room again, just relaxing. I didn't have much a life here now so I didn't know what to do. Once or twice my father would invite me to join him and the Queen for family time. It wasn't optional, at least, I think it wasn't. I attended and they spent time discussing with me what was happening in the world, what they had learned, how to use it to my advantage later. There was little emotion shared between us. I had more emotional moments with Julanza in the past few days than I've had with my father in my whole life. The majority of my emotional moments with my father were over mother's passing. I was seven when she died. Father offered me this when we were at her funeral: "Stop crying, we're in public." You can see why we don't get along anymore.

After family time was spent, I was released for dinner, and then I usually went to bed. Of course, anytime I wanted to leave my room I could. I wasn't a prisoner in my room, even though I felt like it sometimes. I tried to hang out with other shadowblades, but they all scowl whenever I'm around and do the whole high school gossip thing while I have my back turned. They know I can hear them but there is really nothing I can do about it. They all talk about how I betrayed the country for a Khajiit that I fell in love with. They're right, of course, but it still sucks to hear about it a month later. So, I'm still avoided like the plague and as far as the older shadowscales are concerned, I don't belong back in my training robes.

Today was normal. I woke up, did my training exercises with Julanza. He kicked my ass so hard that I almost couldn't walk back to my room. It was pretty bad. I actually fell in the hallway when my knee buckled from the repetitive kicks I received earlier in the day. I was certain that there was going to be some nasty bruising later. Beautrishu found me leaning against the wall, trying to push myself back up. She helped walk me back to my room and told me that she was going to send food with an extra dosage of healing herbs and hist to drink. I thanked her for helping me. She was always nice to me, even after I was found guilty for treason.

After breakfast, I was called to my magical studies. Today was mostly about weakness scanning and soul trapping. Tomorrow was supposed to be banishing Daedra. It wasn't much, I know, but I've already covered all the basics of using my magicka to fight again. Restoration training reminded me too much of how I met Vatu back in our Restoration class. Imagine, I might not have even known Vatu if I hadn't tried testing out of the class. He stayed after class just to make sure I would have been ok leaving the classroom. I got in a bit of an argument with the teacher and I was purposely staying behind to assess whether or not I had to kill her. She didn't take my bait with Vatu near me. But it did get us introduced and for that…I am thankful.

My magical studies were going just fine, until Shadowmaster Julanza walked into the library. I took my eyes off the book to glance at him. Yuvenni barely acknowledged him but waved him in. "Julanza, do you require something?" She asked in her usual bland voice. I knew she was one of the 'husks' from the Shadow Magic Institute. She made it to the rank of shadowmaster by being utterly ruthless and emotionless in her tasks and judgments.

Shadowmaster Julanza nodded to her and turned his look to me. "Princess Nexauvia needs to make herself presentable and report to the war room…immediately." He said. He motioned me to follow him.

I stood and bowed to Shadowmaster Yuvenni. "Thank you for today's studies, ma'am."

She didn't even blink. "Do not forget to practice combining a draining energy spell with a paralyzing shock spell with the use of one finger jab. I will have you present it on me first thing tomorrow. Understood?"

I nodded back and bowed away. Homework, she was the only one that ever gave me homework. But it would be fulfilling if I ever needed to paralyze, injure, and drain energy from my target at the same time. Not to mention, it would help refill my own energy in the process. I could see hundreds of scenarios when I would need such a spell. I bet she wants me to learn how to use this spell because it may have saved her own life more than once. It is a common saying among our people "The only techniques that are worth teaching are taught by the survivors." It may be as simple as sticking a sword in someone's throat as opposed to come complicated form that does nothing to help you fight. You only need to learn what will keep you alive, that simple. And it's usually the simple moves that work so well. The basics are called basics for a reason; they are the techniques that will _always_ work.

I joined Shadowmaster Julanza out in the hallway and he started taking me away. As we started walking, he took a glance over his shoulder and started evaluating me with his eyes. He finally sighed and said, "Princess, we'll stop by your room so that you may dress in more…appropriate attire. We have new guests and your father wants you to introduce them to our little family. I seriously doubt your father will appreciate you showing up in your training robes."

I glanced down at my training robes. They were two separate robes. The top layer were loose dark purple cloths that were meant more for keeping my figure obscured so that if I trained around some teenage boys…it didn't distract them too much. The under-layer was our typical black rubbersilk, skin-tight and, even if it did cover every inch, it was very revealing. Looking down at my robes, I had not noticed just how burnt, torn, and sweat-stained they really were. Yeah, I needed to change before I introduced myself to new guests. Better get my dress.

I continued to follow behind Julanza, who was dressed in his Shadowmaster armor. I don't think I've ever seen him without his armor. I knew he was my uncle but I've never really seen him socialize with my father or the Queen. I wonder if he didn't get along with them. I got along with Julanza just fine, so maybe he was just like me then. Someday I hope to find out what happened to him. But it really wasn't my business. He was my trainer at the moment and that meant keeping my mind on the training.

Julanza stopped by my door, standing beside it, looking at me from behind his covered face. "Try to be quick, Princess. We must not make our guests wait too long."

I nodded, pushing into my room. I closed the door behind me and glanced around. My room was as clean as it always was. My desk was cleared of everything, my bed perfectly made. I made sure my door was locked before I started pulling off my training robes. Since they were more or less ruined, I tossed the clothes into my hamper. I quickly ran myself through a small shower and toweled off. As soon as I was dry, I went to my dresser and ran through my various amounts of Argonian royalty clothing. I did not want to wear any purple dresses today, but it seems that everything in my dresser was purple. So, I decided on a dark purple loose top with a long black skirt. I finished it up with long purple gloves that reached up past my elbows. It was amazing that I could ever get these things on with all the spikes I have on my arms. But…they were designed for it. They just strapped on instead of pulled over. Quicker to get off too, if I needed to.

I paused by my door, wondering what Vatu was up to. My training was going great, I was healthy again, my body back up to its almost physical perfection (at least I wasn't showing my bones anymore). It was because I was becoming so healthy that I wondered what happened to him. It was only a matter of time before I saw him again. I wonder what our heart-felt welcome would be like. Knowing him and me, it will be brief, not very emotional but with all the weight of the world behind it. Well, I hope it is at least.

Twisting the doorknob, I met Julanza outside. He took a glance at me before nodding in acceptance. "You've really changed since you left Argonia, Princess."

I nodded to him. "Yes, I learned a lot about myself at the Arcane University." _Actually, I was forced to learn a lot about what I was supposed to kill and what I wasn't capable of doing, like killing a friend._ I thought to myself.

Julanza didn't respond to me, leaving me to my thoughts. We silently strode down the hallway, my steps nearly matching his. Julanza only stood a foot taller than me but with how he held himself, he stood towers above me. I could only hope that I project myself as tall someday. If I was to rule this country, I would need to.

We finally made it to the war room and Julanza opened the door for me. He ushered me inside saying, "Remember to smile and make friends."

I smiled at him as fake as I could and whispered, "Like this?"

He only scoffed before shoving me inside. "Behave, niece."

Julanza closed the door behind us and he took his usual spot in the corner of the room. Shadowmasters were the silent and imposing guardians of the Queen so I guess he was just here to remind everyone that the Queen had protection at all times.

As my eyes drifted over to the group of humans standing near the shadow portal, my father walked over to me, his huge boots quietly thundering over the floor. "Everyone, this is my daughter.." He paused by my side, throwing his arm over my shoulder, pulling me closer. "Princess Nexauvia, Shadowscale, and leader of my special task force."

The shorter balding man wearing what appeared to be Blades armor bowed as he stepped forward. "It _is_ an honor to meet you, Princess but…" He turned back to look at my father. "we still have more to discuss with you, sir."

The equally short…Breton, I think she was, walked up. She glanced up at me and I found myself lost in her facial features. That sharpness to her looks, the hair…everything seemed familiar. It was only a few seconds before, "Arch-Mage?!" burst out of my mouth.

She paused, glancing at me equally. "I remember you, you were at the University. I heard from Jurard that you helped them escape the disaster that occurred there."

I nodded, quickly saying, "Yes, I did. I accidentally sent them here, where they were imprisoned. They escaped."

The woman nodded. "Yes, I remember Jurard talking about that. She is sorry for blasting you, by the way. She knew you were only doing as ordered."

That left father dead in his tracks. He glanced at the Arch-Mage and said, "What?"

The Arch-Mage glanced at father and smiled. "Jurard told me that your daughter attacked her. She had no choice but to knock her out. She felt sorry for it because your daughter saved their lives. But…orders are orders, I guess." She looked down at a wrapped bundle in her hands and I heard some light cooing from the blankets.

My father noticed the wrapped bundles as well and looked over to one of the servants waiting by the door. "Weirhavenam, go fetch some human baby formula."

She bowed by the door and exited. "Right away, Warlord."

"Warlord, may we get back to what we were discussing?" The short bald Blade said. I believed he may have been Jauffre, but never meeting the man myself, I could have not been able to say for certain.

My father sighed and stepped away from me. "Of course, Grandmaster." He stepped up to the giant glowing orb of the world and said, "As I've been saying, the Aldmeri Dominion has supplied us with this map of the world. It shows us everything we need to know: enemy location, enemy numbers, even power level of each soldier. Just imagine how much this will evolve the battlefield."

Arch-Mage walked up to the map, running her free hand over it. "It's glorious, Warlord. Is that how you knew we were in trouble?"

He nodded. "Yes, I responded as soon as I noticed that you were being attacked. I was busy researching an incident in Bruma, an incident that involved necromancers. I was so busy researching into that bloodbath that I did not notice more than half of your temple had burnt to the ground."

Jauffre crossed his arms. "I'm just happy you arrived at all. It would have been too easy to leave us behind and let us die."

I was still standing in my spot, watching my father respond to everyone. I could tell by the way he grabbed onto his hands behind his back that he was lying to them. He called it diplomacy but he only put his hands behind his back when he was trying to keep himself calm. It allowed him to look peaceful and open, while he contemplated what lie he was going to use next. Knowing him, he was watching them die and then jumped in at the last second to 'save' them.

My father hunched his shoulders and sighed. "This world is going to Oblivion. You are the leaders of your respective organizations. If we are to survive this war…we need leadership, all united, and coordinated on the enemy." He gestured to the spying world and said, "And with this globe of the world…we will know exactly where our enemy will be. With magic, we can call our forces, we can plan in advance, evacuate in advance, and coordinate joint efforts in ambushes. That can buy us time, a lot of time. But we really need…is a solution."

The huge Nord that I knew as Hans the Hardy, Battlemage Commander, stepped forward. His normally golden steel armor was glistened bright blue and human blood. "I have a solution. In Elsweyr, there is an old ruin with a device that will actually trap the Aedra. If we can find it, it will get rid of every single Aedra on our planet, for good."

I looked over to my father. He glanced around the map before looking back at Fiirnar. "Fiirnar? You've been in Elsweyr before. Is there such a device?"

Fiirnar shrugged. "We would have to ask our new Khajiit friend. He would know of such a device, or legend, more like."

Father looked back to our new visitors and said, "We shall discuss this after dinner tonight. For now," He gestured over to me. I already knew what was going to be said, so I began stepping up beside my father, letting him put his arm around me again. "my daughter will show you to your rooms." He glanced over to me. "Dearest daughter, west wing, guest bedrooms."

I bowed to him and looked over to our guests. Time for me to do my duty. "Follow me and I'll show you around the town if you want. But I suggest we hurry, dinner if in a few hours."

…

[Vatu]

The first thing I noticed was there was still a fluffy ball of warmth wrapped in my arms. The surrounding air was cool and the constant breeze was welcome. The smell of sewage was not, however. I didn't really care for the stench, but if it kept Aedra away from us, it was tolerable. There was something off, I just knew it. I opened my eyes and glared around. Everything was blue, so…it was so dark that my night vision had kicked in. Everyone was turned in, curled up in their mats. I could see that Davilia and Primrose had returned from this mission. I wonder how it went.

The sudden realization that I had to piss overwhelmed me. So, that's why I woke up. I hadn't gone piss in a while. I glanced down at the sleeping ball of Nisha and gently started pushing her away. Her arm snaked out and wrapped around me. She mumbled in her sleep and nuzzled her head in my chest. I sighed/groaned as I really started moving her. She moaned but she didn't wake up as I pulled her off of me. She was still young enough that she wouldn't wake up from me moving around. I placed her inside my sleeping bag and quietly made my way away from the others. I didn't want them waking up to me pissing in the sewage water. I mean sure…it's already what it is but…they didn't need confirming what's in this water, or to see me adding to it.

I quietly snuck away in the dark, happily able to see everything with my night vision. I paused a few tunnels away and let myself pee in the quiet. For the minute I was there, my ears were very active. I guess trying to evacuate my bladder makes one very…paranoid and hyper sensitive to noise. I could hear the quiet snoring from further down the tunnel. When I pulled my pants back up, I decided to journey down the tunnel. Maybe they were goblins. If I got rid of them now, I wouldn't have to worry about them finding us sooner or later.

I instantly went into stealth mode, crouching as I stepped into the tunnel, making sure to keep my feet out of the water I just pissed in. I guess it didn't bother me to step in other people's body products, but my own disgusted me. Weird, I know.

I paused further down the tunnel when I started picking up the faintest scent of fish. I could tell it was rotten. I had encountered a similar stench when I toss the head of a fish away and leave it for a day or two. That would mean that someone down here was tossing fish heads, probably. And goblins don't ditch the heads. They eat them.

I decided to follow my nose, keeping as silent as possible. The scent took me down the tunnel to my right and dead-ended at a wall. Confused as ever, I looked around for the source of the stench. What I found was a vent embedded into the ground of the sewer wall. A vent…down this far into the sewer? I have spent a lot of my youth in sewers like this one, hunting for food and stuff, and I had never noticed a vent before. Not to mention, it looked new. I lowered down and sniffed with my nose. Scents of humans, fish, Orcs, and other things filled my nose. Flicking and focusing with my ears, I could hear muffled breathing, some people coughing. It sounded like they were sleeping. This vent…wherever it led, it led to someone. I had to follow it.

While the vent was too small for me to fit down under, I had another plan. The vent more or less led down or to the other side of the wall. So, I just had to find a way to follow this vent, one way or another. I pulled out a small ball of string that I carried around when I wanted to annoy Nisha. I willed my energy to fill the ball and I willed it to unravel itself inside the vent while following it to the smell of the fish. I then filled a homing energy into the string. I would be able to feel its energy while it rolled away. Once I finished, I placed the ball of string in the vent and watched as it slowly started rolling away, while I tied the tip of the ball onto a bar.

I followed the wall for a few minutes, trying to keep up with it. It took me down some corridors, past some rivers of sewage, and surprisingly, through a gremlin camping area (all the goblins were dead, though). The energy finally took me to another dead end that was further away from our temporary camp than I would have liked. I paused a moment and studied the way. Usually the walls within the sewers were known to have secrets rooms behind them. That's why it's so hard to kill the goblins; they grow up in these tunnels and know every secret there is to know about them.

Towards the bottom of the wall, I could see a loose brick sticking out. Smelling something weird with the rock, I bent down to investigate it. The rock was real, that was for sure. I pulled it out and the wall started to shift. I backed up as the wall broke in a section and started pulling in. In that second, two armed Imperial Army guards stormed out to meet me, both armed with pikes aimed at my throat. I, like an idiot, continued to lie on the ground and pushed myself back as the guards approached me.

"What do we have here?" One asked.

"State you name and business!" Another said.

"What's going on out there?" A voice called from inside. It was a voice I'd heard before but did not expect to hear.

"Mr. Davilia's father?" I said in astonishment. That was his voice, I'd never forget it, even if I did only hear it once before.

With thundering footsteps, I heard and felt him come flying through the hole in the wall. When he came out, I could see his mohawk graying hair, his dark complexion, and his iron armor. It was Modryn Oreyn, Davilia's father, and second-in-command to the Imperial City Resistance.

Modryn glared down at me for a second with his judging eyes. He finally remembered something about me before he pushed the pikes away from my throat. "Don't worry, he's friends with my daughter. A battlemage, if I remember correctly."

I nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm a scout from the 4th Battlemage Troop. I smelled your rotten fish heads so I enchanted a string to find you."

Modryn smiled and stuck out his hand. "Well done, soldier. Come on in for some food. Then we can find the rest of your unit. Sound good?"

I was about to refuse, but my growling stomach answered for me. "Thank you, sir."

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Next chapter will be up soon. Maybe after this 21 stuff. That is...if we all live. If not, i'll meet you at your respective afterlives and we'll all share a shot or two of Jameson's. Seems only right._


	24. Ch 24: Vilena's Decision

**Cearbhail:** _I would like to thank all you for being patient. This past week has been...blah worthy. I was in such a state of nothingness that I tried to write but found nothing. But I'm back. And I've been drawing during my little trip. I'm getting better. Soon enough, I will have covers for my stories, I just need a little more practice before I can draw anything other than traces of other pictures. And no, I'm not tracing by placing the paper up to the screen and draw the lines. I'm analyzing the figures, the lines, and i'm manually recreating the picture in front of me. I'm getting better at replicating the anime I'm drawing so soon enough, hopefully I can draw the images in my head as well. Anyway, new chapter and Lydia's story should updated soon. Like in a couple days._

* * *

[Huir]

"What do you see?" The lovely Merete asked from behind me.

We stood up on one of the hilltops, hidden inside one of her soul-trap spheres that was supplied by an amulet that hung around her neck. These amulets were commonplace now. They were being distributed to every able mage and soldier in Tamriel. Almost everyone had one.

A storm hung overhead, light amounts of lightning and thunder keeping us partially awake. Good thing it was still early afternoon otherwise, I wouldn't be able to look down upon the Imperial City.

The city itself looked like a small ant farm but with my special Prying Eye spell, I could see the city as though I was standing in it. And what I saw was disturbing. Corpses, long decomposed, littered the streets. The buildings were more rubble on the road than anything else. But there was something. I couldn't see any rats. That was a good sign that there were still people alive. Otherwise there would be livestock roaming the roads unafraid of anything. I would know; I've seen ghost towns before. And corpses make for great meals for them.

The Imperial City looked like a mess. I once saw this giant majestic city and saw an opportunity to make my fortune. I was wrong. I found someone in a red robe recruiting me for something I did not fully understand. That led me to an unfulfilling life trying not to kill anyone and still got locked behind bars. That being said, I'm not entirely happy that the city was in shambles but…I can feel that someone is alive down there. At least there were no Aedra waiting nearby. They were still circling around Bruma, searching for us. I left them a nice exploding surprise so that they wouldn't follow us.

"I see dead bodies and ruined walls. Oh wait…I was looking at the Waterfront District. Here, let me check the rich part of the city. Oh…that's different." I said sarcastically. "They're having cake."

She smiled at me and shook her head. "All you do is answer sarcastically. I'm guessing that's how you deal with stress?"

I snickered and turned away. "You're still young, you have much cynicism to learn. You're what? 18?"

She looked pleased. "20, actually."

I nodded. "Yeah, young. I'm 41. I've been around twice as long and my life's been pretty much this…" I gestured to the ruined city far below us. "my whole life. Sarcasm makes it easier to deal with."

"Wow." Merete responded, her eyes wide with astonishment. It looked cute on her. "You don't look forty. You look way younger than that." She chuckled lightly.

I almost smiled as I started standing up. "Tell that to my joints. No, I don't age nearly as horribly as you humans do. We elves age half as fast. Dunmer live almost 200 years, We Bosmer almost 150. Those damn Altmer though, they live almost 400 if they're careful." I patted my knees, saying, "But for some reason, my bones age just as fast. We grow old and feeble, but our magic grows stronger. Too bad my magic is used for hunting. My Prying Eye was used to help me snipe deer. Now I'm a scout. Who woulda guessed that hunting techniques were just as good at scouting for the military?"

She only shrugged. "Seems the same in my book. Hunting is nothing more than well…hunting. Scouting is the same. Track enemy movements, stay hidden from view, and collect information. The only difference is that you don't kill your prey while scouting. Scouts instead retreat with the information and share it with their superiors."

Boy, she was clever. Of course, she was a battlemage. Being a fighter isn't enough for them. They had to be smart and strong. The perfect blend. Too bad that left her ability to sense unnecessary small-talk somewhat…not there. I was asking a rhetorical question and I didn't really expect her to give an answer. But not only did she answer, she almost lectured me. Oh well. At least I wasn't traveling with a silent monk. All they do is grunt in reply. It gets annoying when you tend to talk as much as I do. Talking keeps me from thinking about my past too much. I've been around for a long time, always been traveling. Up until my most recent fuck-up, I had a pretty full and exciting life. Now it was getting back to normal. About time, I think.

"So, our orders were what exactly?" I asked back at Merete.

She pulled out a small crystal ball and glared intently at it. "My father said that our friends are in the Imperial City. They're hidden in the sewers. That just means that we have to look for them, show them the survivors from Bruma, and link up with the other battlemages. Once we're all one big happy family, we can start taking the refugees to the new refugee camp in Black Marsh."

"Black Marsh?" I asked. I spent some time in Black Marsh…as a prisoner and hostage. That was before I became the Glass Arrow. I had to endure much pain and suffering before I realized that someone needed to step up and fight injustice. That time in Black Marsh turned me into a vigilante. This of course all happened after our pirate ship was attacked by Argonian crashers. They swam up to our boats and blew a big hole in our hull. As our ship sunk, the Argonians swam in and took us all by surprise. They dragged us down underwater and swam for their camp. Those of us who didn't drown on the way were tied up and treated as hostages and prisoners. My skills as a hunter made me quite an entertainer for them. Kept them from killing me at least. But it also forced me to become stronger as a survivor. I eventually escaped and when I got my hands on some poisonous barbs that can actually kill Argonians…I made arrows out of them and started hunting their bandit clan. I became the Glass Arrow that day. And I never looked back.

Merete nodded. "Yes, Black Marsh. The Queen of Black Marsh has permitted safe passage into her country. All Argonians living inside Black Marsh have been told what will happen if they attack the convoys. It will be considered treason. That being said, no one will commit treason with an army of shadowscales and shadowwraiths so nearby."

Well, that was a bit of good news. I sure hoped Black Marsh would become a friendly place. Too bad I knew better. But, oh well. Orders were orders and unfortunately, I'm still on good behavior watch. If I didn't do as Hans ordered, I was as good as locked up again. Well, that was a trivial matter. I wanted to help. I was one of the only epic archers in existence anymore. My skills were as needed as anyone right now. "So, the sewers, eh?" I asked her, smiling. "Good thing for you that I'm here. I know my way through the secret passages. Got trained on that back during the war."

She rolled her eyes. "You mean when you were one of those red-robed martyrs?"

I shrugged. "Hey! I didn't know that we were committing genocide. All I heard was 'we have cake'. And I was like 'Good, I have four sweet teeth'. And they were like, 'That's good. The cake is next to the sacrificial daggers'." I chuckled as I turned back around. "Of course, that should have been a dead giveaway."

I actually drew a laugh from her and she shook her head in amusement. "Ok, I've heard enough. Come on, we still have to rendezvous with our comrades."

…

[Vatu]

I had no idea so many people had survived this long into the war. The sewers under the Imperial City housed all the survivors from all the nearby towns. I'm sure there were others in Anvil or Leyawiin that were surviving on their own, but, for the most part, there was a whole community growing down here. It was a sight to see and I was glad that so many people survived. It was a real morale booster.

That wasn't the half of it. The remaining Imperial Army housed itself down here. It was nice to hear that all the goblins living down here were killed long ago and their old camps were turned into scouting camps. The surviving council was also protected down here. The ones in charge were Vilena Donton, the reinstated Master of the Fighters Guild. She was a wonderful woman, but was pushing up to 80 years. I wondered if she was going to die from all this stress.

Oh yeah, I'm sitting in her office, Modryn standing beside me. He had his hands crossed and he looked expectedly down at me. "Vilena, this is Vatu. He is a Khajiit assigned to the 4th Battlemage Troop. He's one of their scouts. He's a wonderful enchanter as well."

Her eyes scanned me up and down. "He seems dangerous enough." She looked from me up to him. "What's he doing down here?"

Modryn cleared his throat. "Ma'am, have you forgotten? Hans Battle-Born told us that he was sending aid to help relocate our civilians to Black Marsh."

Vilena stood up, crossing her arms behind her back. "That's a little dangerous, Modryn. The trek from here to Black Marsh is very long and it's across possible infested Aedra pockets. I see no reason for our men to leave while they are safe here."

I watched as Modryn stepped closer, his eyes becoming sharp as knives. "We're running out of food and fresh water, Vilena! The fumes from the sewers are getting to the older folks. People are getting ill and we need to relocate them. The Queen of Black Marsh has told us that she will take care of our citizens. As the Master of the Fighters Guild and the only real leader left…it is your job to keep everyone safe!"

Vilena paused for a second before she sighed heavily. When she turned around, I could see just how old her eyes looked. "I didn't listen to you about that Blackwood Company and now…I'm fighting with you again." She closed her eyes and nodded. "I should always trust your judgment, Modryn. Prepare our troops, locate our new reinforcements, and prepare a transportation plan. You have 12 hours, Modryn. Get started."

Modryn nodded and looked down at me. "Come, Vatu. I wish to speak to my daughter."

I nodded to him and stood up. I bowed to Vilena Donton. "Thank you for agreeing to our plan, Ma'am."

She nodded to me. "I will keep my word. I will have my fighters train for war. We will join the war council."

War council? I hadn't heard about any war council. When I looked over at Modryn in confusion, he nodded in confirmation. "You must have not heard about it. Hans Battle-Born is calling your unit to come down to Black Marsh. You're escorting the civilians from our town to Black Marsh. From there, well…I'm guessing your leader will brief you on the spot."

My leader? Erandur? For some reason, I doubted the he knew anything more than coming here. Now we're going to Black Marsh? How come I didn't know about this? I was part of the pack: Erandur, Davilia, and I. The three of us were like family. How come they don't tell me anything anymore? Not to mention the fact that I'm not a team leader like Davilia or even Primrose. I was a part of Crassi's scouting squad. I couldn't take not knowing anymore. I had to ask Erandur exactly why I was being treated differently than the rest of my friends.

I followed behind Modryn as he led me through the walkways. He was taking me back to entrance I found not too long ago. He was going to follow behind me with a few armed Imperial soldiers. I was supposed to lead Modryn back to our camp so that he could link up with Erandur and the rest of our troop.

Once we made it back to the door, Modryn gently pushed me in front of him. "Ok, Vatu. Lead us to your fellow battlemages."

I nodded and looked around. I had no idea where the hell I was. It didn't look the same going back as it did coming down. But then I remembered the string I used to find this place. It was still in the grating, still glowing with my magicka. I paused for a second, stretching my awareness out. A light blue fire started pouring off my body, making the armed guards jump back in surprise.

"Sir, what's he doing?" The guard with the pike asked.

Modryn smiled. "Powering up a spell. He's a battlemage…it's kind of their thing."

I closed my eyes and started muttering some nonsense Khajiit words that helped me focus. The stench of the rotting fish heads clouded my head and make it harder for me to focus. The fact that the string's magicka-weaving was wearing off didn't help either. No, I had to do this the old way. I had to focus and sense any residue left behind and follow it back. It would get harder the further we went too. This would be maybe the hardest thing I'd ever have to do. Good thing I like all the practice.

As my mind cleared, the energy off the string started coming into mind. I could sense it to my right and it started stretching out in a straight line. Now that I had a whiff of the energy, I just had to keep my mind on it and I could just follow it back. If I got distracted, I had to search it out again but as long as I stay close, it should be easier to detect it. Ok, time to go.

I waved Modryn to follow me as I started walking away. The two guards followed behind us as we started traveling through the sewers. We took plenty of awkward turns, some of which that took us around in circles. One of the guards asked why we were traveling in circles and I actually managed to turn around to answer him. "I used a ball of string to find you guys. I'm following it back to where I started. I started near our camp. Shouldn't be too much longer, I can feel my friends nearby. But I'd rather not get lost if that's ok."

My mind was still on the string and I could feel it next to my right the whole way back. The path had grown straighter and I started remembering where I had been before. This part of the sewers looked memorable. As we drew even closer, I could hear people shouting. It sounded like everyone was busy fighting. Just utter chaos.

"He couldn't have gone far!" I think I heard Erandur screaming.

The sound of heavy running footsteps came from around the corner, causing me to stop. I poked my head out and I could see Davilia standing a few feet away from me. She looked nervous and breathless. When her bright red eyes saw me, she smiled so quickly that I wondered what I missed. "Vatu!" She turned around, cupping her hands to her mouth. "Guys, he's over here!" She turned back to me, throwing me into a hug. "Vatu! We thought you had run off."

I took a few deep breaths too keep myself calm. "Ok, but…why would I run off?"

She pulled me away, smiling thinly. "Oh…no reason. Just…forget I said anything."

Erandur came running up next, his katana in his hand. "Is he normal?" When he looked at me, he focused on my eyes. Then he stopped and smiled. "Good to have you back, buddy."

That's when Modryn walked out of the pipe. He popped up behind me, grabbing Davilia into a tight hug. "Davilia!" He said softly. "It's been too long."

Davilia looked surprised for a second before coughing out, "Father? What?" Then she looked at me and smiled. "Oh, I see Vatu found you then."

I looked over at Erandur, nodding at him to follow. He noticed the look in my eyes and he took a deep breath before following me away from the group. Davilia and her father were still catching up so now was the time to get some answers about why I was still just a scout. When I had Erandur alone, I paused for a second to study him. He looked relaxed, a little nervous, hand on his katana. He was ready for me to go blood-rager. Everyone was these days. Only Primrose and Nisha treated me no different.

Erandur opened up our conversation. "So, what is this about, Vatu? We thought you had run off."

"Why would I? I noticed how you scanned my eyes. You think I went blood-raging again…didn't you?" I whispered to him, trying to keep my voice level.

He nodded. "I won't lie, Vatu. Not to you. Yes, I thought you had left because you thought that you were too dangerous to stay in our company. We were going to bring you back so that we could convince you to stay."

That drew a smile on my face. "Thanks, Erandur. But, that is not the only thing that bothers me. Davilia and Primrose are both team leaders. Why aren't I in your circle of leaders?"

He frowned at that. "I didn't think that it would matter to you. You're not exactly the most social person on our company. While I trust your tactical and stealthy approach to every situation, I don't think that everyone would listen to your orders. And now that we have your other problem, everyone is scared of you. I think it's best to keep you away from as much stress as possible and that would mean not having to deal with troops asking you stupid questions every second of the day. Seriously, Travis just asked me if he could go clean his sword, go pee, and if he could drink something." Erandur shook his head. "No, Vatu. I kept you as a scout because it gives you flexibility. You may report to Crassi but you're still on the same level as her when it comes to my respect. Higher, actually. But Crassi does have her moments where she is smarter than myself and for that, she's in charge of your group."

I nodded. Ok, it wasn't because Erandur thought less of me; it was because everyone else did. Figures. Politics were already affecting his mind. Oh well, I was happy being a scout and it did get me away from the others. Being the fact that I could snap and become a blood-rager again in the drop of a hat was more than enough reason to keep me away from everyone at every second of the day. And hey…if I do snap, the first people in my line-of-sight would be Crassi and Travis. Couldn't ask for better throats to rake.

I placed my hand on Erandur's shoulder and smiled. "Thank you for being honest with me. It means a lot that you understand the pressure I face with this…mindset of mine."

He nodded. "I'm always here, Vatu." Then he nodded to Davilia and her father. "Now, come. We have new orders from Commander Battle-Born. We're escorting the survivors from this group to Black Marsh. From there, we're bringing a…squad from Black Marsh into our own. Some Shadowscale named Nexa Frazviani will tell us about it when we get there."

I paused for a second. "Nexa? Are you sure her name is Nexa?" No, that can't be right. Nexa? If she got involved in my life…I wasn't sure if I could ever recover my emotional status. It was hard enough having Primrose cling to me, now I would have Nexa punching me in the shoulder and telling me to lion up. And not to mention the two of them would start warring over me. Oh no…I don't think I could take that much stress. I might snap from that alone.

Erandur paused as he looked back at me. His eyes glared at me and whatever he found in my expression caused him to frown. "Another love interest, Vatu? She's the Argonian that saved your sister, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Yeah. She risked her life to save my sister."

Erandur whistled sharply and turned around, shaking his head. "Wow, your life sucks then. Her and Primrose will drive you crazy."

"Let's hope not." I responded.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: once again, thank you for being patient. I know it's been a while for this story and others as well. I just needed a good breath._


	25. Ch 25: The bloody journal

**Cearbhail:** _Not a very long chapter, but I like the substance of it. I finally bring Nakuma back into the story. And boy does she have a real part of the story to contend with. Now, I hope you enjoy and I won't ruin the surprise of what is going on until you read it so...I'll say what I have to say at the bottom._

* * *

[Nakuma]

"And this is where you'll keep your studies. This is not permanent, mind you, and you'll most likely want to take all important materials with you when you begin your mission." Shadowmaster Julanza stated to me, motioning to the large array of desks and shelves in the corner of the Shadowwraith Barracks room.

Half of the room was dedicated to beds; the other half housed our individual research centers. The rest of the room was countless rows of bookshelves containing study material. Anything we could possibly want to know was in here for us to read. Of course, our beds may have been in the same room, but that was for safety and security purposes. They wanted us all in the same spot so they could find us all at once, if need be. The beds themselves were enchanted with maskers. Once we got in our bed, we could actually create our own space. Like a private room. This was luxury at its best. Something I did not expect to have… ever, but I guess being an Imperial Shadowwraith has its benefits. Working for the Warlord and all.

I nodded to him. "Thank you, Shadowmaster."

He glared down at me, non-blinking. I wasn't sure if he was angry with me, judging me, or just making a slight observation. It was a weird glance that I could place, but couldn't remember. He finally patted me on the shoulder. "Welcome to the Shadow Squad. I already have your first assignment. At first, I was reluctant to place you as the researcher, but I feel your… hmm, feelings on the matter will make you a prime investigator. I was going to place Oleeme as the investigator, but there is just one problem. I feel that he could, in fact, come to a quick and very precise conclusion, but it will be all factual. I need someone whose heart can judge right and wrong, not right and incorrect."

I found myself nodding. "Ok…?" What type of project was the Shadowmaster throwing on my shoulders if he could not trust Oleeme's judgment on the subject?

Shadowmaster Julanza pulled out a battered old red journal with a Conjuration ruin inscribed on it. He began to pass it to me, but stopped. "Be careful with this journal. It's very old." He placed it in my hands as gingerly as possible. "Now, I can already tell that if you want to continue researching this (as is your assignment), you will first need to replicate this ancient text. As in, word by word, picture by picture, you must recreate this text."

I carefully started flipping through the pages. I paused by one entry near the very beginning.

_Shadow Journey, Entry one_

_Owner: Mannimarco Traven._

_Where to start? Well, being a member of the Psijic Order is fascinating. Imagine, we're the first to ever attempt to understand the relationship that we have with our deeper selves. But is that really enough? I wish to understand it all, to unravel it all. But…we only live for so long! If only there were a way for me to break loose from the chains of life and death, to transcend to mortal coils and fulfill the undying wish that we all share: to live forever. Imagine the things we could do if we could break away from the chains of life and death. I want this, more than anything. I hope to find a way. As a Psijic Monk, you'd think it would be possible._

_But I was wrong. The Psijic Order is still young, incomplete. We house some of the best minds but we dare not question what lies beyond, beneath. We live in a shadow of a doubt what is right and wrong, what we can do and what we shouldn't do. I have stopped believing that life has to end. We can do whatever we please, there has to be a way. I have started to share my doubts with Vanus. He believes that I am in too much of a rush, that even though I'm gifted that I should still think before I commit myself to this. He found me messing with my Mysticism with bodies. He found me reactivating old corpses in hopes to find out what I could do to keep myself alive. A living dead corpse, that is what I desire. A body that does not fall to decay, a mind that lives even longer. But a corpse is a corpse. I need an undying body. Never has such a thought been thought before, I will be the first._

_I will find a way; it is only a matter of time. But…that's the issue isn't it? Time IS my issue._

I closed the journal, my face burning like I was heavily embarrassed. My hands trembled at holding the journal, my breath was caught in my throat. "This is…" I stopped, my throat closing itself. "The King of Worm's journal?"

Julanza nodded. "Yes, it is. And inside it is the information needed to rid this world of the Aedra. I have tasked you with this assignment. Recreate this journal. While doing so, I want you to research Black Soul Gems: what makes them, how they work. Then I want you to research the Black Soul Gem Capacitor. As you'll find out, it is a device designed to seal away massive amounts of Aedra. In fact, it gets rid of them all. You'll need to know how this device works. And finally, I want you to research Great Black Welkynd Stones: if any exist, where they are, how to create one if we need to. Everything, Nakuma. Everything."

My mind was spinning. This was a lot to be placed to study. And it was all on the spot. I looked down at the journal. Just recreating this journal of the sickest mind of Tamriel is enough to cripple some of the softer hearts in magic. He was the first, the original Lich. He was the thing that people pretended to not believe in. The first boogeyman that would take your body and mess around with it, creating a magic that runs off of the dead. And _I_ was going to read his journal. _I_ would be following his line of thought, the thoughts that took an innocent student who wanted nothing more than the whole truth…and turned him into a monster. _I_ would have to follow that line of thought all the way to the journal's completion. I could easily crack under this amount of pressure.

I almost passed the journal back to Shadowmaster Julanza, but my hands quit before they began. That didn't stop my rising voice from crying out in alarm. "Shadowmaster! This…this is a dangerous thing. Don't you think that an emotionless person like Oleeme would be better suited for this type of study?"

He shook his head. "It is for those reasons that he is not. His blatant disregard for emotional morals (things that would make you die inside) are what would make his research incomplete. I need someone who will fear this study but take it seriously. You need to understand in full what it is that you are studying: what it feels like to create something, what the consequences of creating it are; that sort of stuff. This is the darkest of magic, Nakuma. But right now…it's this dark magic that will save our world. I need you to put aside your grievances with this corpse magic, but at the same time, I need you to be wary of it. We will not win this war by proving we are the monsters the Aedra believe us to be."

He paused after that, shaking his own head. My heart skipped a beat as the journal's energy started pulsating out to me, willing me to read it, to gain knowledge from it. I glanced down at the journal. Yeah, I was going to have to read this and follow the journey that made Mannimarco into the King of Worms. All that lost innocence that followed a thousand years of death magic. Sure, I was a Shadowwraith, we are taught necromancy, but…we don't go around and resurrect dead bodies just to gain knowledge of it. Theory works for most of us. The research I was going to be reading was going to be from the first one to do so. Imagine what might happen to my innocence in the process of this. Forever stained with knowledge that would never go away.

I finally nodded and pulled the journal back to me. "Yes, Shadowmaster. I shall begin researching at once."

He nodded back. "The fate of our world may very well depend on this information, Nakuma. The sooner you have it all figured out, the less people that may have to die in the future."

For now, maybe. But if this material exists for longer than this war, it very well might be used again for an eviler motive. If someone bad got their hands on this journal or the designs of whatever creations existed that could eradicate Aedra…imagine what could happen to our world if they got their hands on these designs. No, once I was done with this research and it was no longer needed, I was going to burn everything associated with it. No one else would ever know what happened, or how to recreate these ancient evils. It was for the good of us all. If Aedra ever returned again, we'd just have to find another way to get rid of them (like kill them with fire).

I finally placed the journal on my new desk and bowed to the Shadowmaster. "I understand the importance of this task, Shadowmaster."

He turned around and walked to the door. "Very good, Shadowwraith Nakuma. The Shadow Squad's primary mission begins in five days. You have until that time to compile as much information as you can. I at least want this journal recreated by then. We will not have the time permitted or the best equipment for transporting a raggedy old journal into a battlefield. If you can recreate the whole journal into something you can transport easily and without worry about water or fire damage…do it."

His glare stared through me. It was again trying to tell me just how important this task was. I finally bowed to him. "Yes, sir. I will begin immediately." _So much for me touring the capital city._ I thought to myself as Shadowmaster Julanza left through the doorway.

As soon as the Shadowmaster was gone, I sank into my chair. Any held breath that I had escaped through my mouth and my chest felt so much lighter. I leaned back and rubbed my eyes for a second (trying to relax as much as I could). When I finally opened my eyes, I looked down at the old red journal sitting only a foot away from me. I could feel the forbidden knowledge pouring off of it. And imagine, I would have to delve into this knowledge. Whether to keep a record of it for future references or to actually use the magics inside it. I sure hoped that I would not have to resort to using the dark magic hidden away inside these pages. This was Mannimarco's personal shadow journal. It held all his secrets: all his research, knowledge…everything. I would be lucky to walk away from this journal and consider walking breathing friends as still…well, friends.

I looked down at the journal and finally reached out for it. It was probably my imagination, but I thought for certain I heard a voice whispering to me as I reached for it. As my hand drifted closer an image of a giant fiery eye flashed into my mind, making me pull my hand back. Did…did I just make something referency happen? Wasn't this the wrong story for something like that? I shrugged as I shook the thought away. What the heck was I talking about? That time in the Soul Chamber did too much to my mind.

So, to keep my momentum going, I stood up and rushed over to the enchanted journals. If I took one of them and used them for the contents of this text, I could easily find myself with an indestructible journal to copy all this info down into. But that was a problem. These journals are known to take on their own personality. Mannimarco's took on his. This journal would take on both of ours. It would combine how I thought on the subject and maybe confuse the message of the journal. Hopefully it wouldn't make researching the feeling behind the necromancy harder, but…I couldn't be sure of anything just yet. I would have to start with the beginning. With that chapter I just read.

…

[Vatu]

Primrose sat down in front of me, her face looking kind. She was undoubtedly the second happiest person to have me back. Nisha held that record. She actually rolled on the ground in the fetal position, crying her eyes out while everyone looked for me. She really didn't want to lose me. Primrose waited patiently beside her, trying to keep her calm-ish. It was a very kind gesture and for that, I am grateful. That did not change the fact that my life was hard to deal with. That…and it was about to become a lot more difficult.

Finding out that Nexa was going to be thrown back into my life told me two things: one…I'm fucked. Two…I'm screwed. Not in the usual way that involves a male and a female, but the more painful version. I have two females that both love me. I have two females that are fighting for me to love them. That means that having both of them, together, trying to win me over…would severely fuck me up. Normal people might enjoy these types of situations, but I am not normal. I am not a social person, I do not like getting too much attention, and I do not like being the subject of a love triangle. I can barely understand a full emotion that involves love anyway. Now I have two of them trying to get me to accept them over the other. No matter what…someone was not going to walk away with a smile. Someone was going to get their heart pulled out and smashed. And if I could not solve my own emotional dilemma it would be two shattered hearts. Oh, and mine, which is already shattered.

That was why Primrose was standing in sitting in front of me. She had to know. She had a right to know. I told her earlier about the other people fighting for my love. I had to at least tell Primrose that we were going to be meeting her. I owed her that much at least.

"Rose, I have something to tell you. I know this is sudden but…"

"Yes, I will marry you." She squeaked out suddenly. Her face was bright red and she looked like a deer caught in a stampede. Then her eyes narrowed in humor and she smiled thinly. She finally laughed and leaned back. "But I'm sure that is not what you were going to say."

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose while my tail flicked everywhere. Primrose watched my tail flick around with a growing smile. "Aw, did I embarrass the kitty?" She leaned forward, smiling even more. "I'm glad I can joke with you like this. A month ago, it would have killed me to announce that."

Why does she have to mess with me? I mean, a month ago, she was the quietest person around and even when she announced how much she loved me, she was still the shy person. Now that she was becoming more comfortable with having me around, she seemed different, more open. Now she joked about getting married. I guess it was only natural for her to think about those things, even if every time I thought about something similar…all I saw was a bloody corpse that I fell in love with. That was why I couldn't love anything. If I got too attached and I lost it…I would lose everything.

When my tail stopped flicking, I said, "Please, Rose… Don't make me feel things right now. I just wrecked a village of people because I started feeling things. I don't think you understand just how much it bothers me that…one minute I could kill the things that I love."

She shed a few tears and pulled me in for a hug. "Vatu…I do understand enough to know that that's why I can't just leave you alone. If being with someone can keep you from triggering it, then…I want to be that someone. Being alone will not solve your problems. Being with someone will give you an extra heart to fight alongside with."

She rubbed my back in that fashion that made me relax. "This actually wasn't the conversation I wanted to have today. I have some news." When she pulled me away, I could see her scanning my eyes. I looked her right in the eyes as I said, "I learned that we are linking up with a squad of Shadowscales. Among them is my old…friend. Her name is Nexa. She was the Argonian that saved my sister. She was the other girl that I had feelings for."

Primrose sat there a moment before smiling. "So, I have a rival then?" She nodded. "Then I won't give up. I just work even harder to win you over."

I suppressed the urge to groan and roll my eyes. She had every right to do whatever she wanted. Regardless of anything I could say, she would just smile and do whatever she wanted. Nexa already knew about Primrose so…that wouldn't be as much of a surprise. What would surprise would be is how the two of them would react to each other while around me and while not around me. Only time will tell just how fucked up my life will become soon enough.

* * *

_**Cearbhail**: Ok, so I wanted to talk about just how hard it was to create my Mannimarco character. I mean, I will actually have to manually create the knowledge-hungry student that wants nothing more than to learn the whole truth. How that truth makes him turn against his friend Vanus. How that relationship falls apart and how Mannimarco becomes the King of Worms. Such a tale to be told and I'm not entirely sure that I'm not completely selected for that role. I mean, why the hell not but sure why not._


	26. Ch 26: Lilmoth's Cafeteria

**Cearbhail:** _A good sized chapter. I know, I know. It's been like...forever. But I'm very busy. I have classes that run into the evening every night...except Friday which is consumed with Kendo practice. And not to mention every monday, wednesday, thursday, and sometimes now Saturday, whenever I'm free... I'm usually doing Kuk Sool Won now as well. (sigh) being awesome isn't always easy. But... I am me so I can't complain. =^.^=_

* * *

[Nakuma]

_Shadow Journey, Entry Two_

_Vanus has been very interested in my whereabouts the past few weeks. I have been most busy. Sometimes I neglect my Psijic duties. I do not mean too, I'm just too consumed with my new research. Because of its…uniqueness…I cannot just perform my work in front of the others. They do not understand. They do not want to understand. If they were to see me doing what I'm doing, they could brand me a traitor, something vile. They do not understand my reasons. As is…I am also unsure. I started this research so that I might live forever, grow more powerful, maybe even unravel the forbidden arts that we are so afraid of. I wish to understand what we don't. I want to see the full picture, not just wallow in the shallows of the pool of knowledge, content to say that I got my feet wet…when I could be neck-deep or holding my breath to see what lies beneath the surface._

_That is my reason. I wish to see what lies beneath the surface of magic: to see where it goes, how far down it goes, every aspect that there is. In order for me to find out, I must first find a way to stop time from taking me. My research is going well, however. I'm afraid of my research getting too out of hand, so I have begun with animals. No one will miss a few chickens or random wolves out in the woods. My first goal is to create a chicken that will lay an egg. I know, I know. They don't lay eggs; they are like all mammals and give birth directly. If I am correct on my thesis, I can make them lay eggs. Doing so will prove that I can change their chemistry and make them do something else than what they are genetically designed to do. The shell of an egg never decays, just like the skin I wish to have. Step one._

_The wolves however…I need something to distract the mages of the world. If I can contact Hircine (one of the forbidden gods) and make a deal with him, perhaps he can show me the way to create a new monster that has the blood of a wolf within them. It will make for some entertainment but will also provide some clues as to how the body takes on changes themselves. I cannot wait to have some accurate results. I begin tonight on the chickens and then I'm off to find a way to contact Hircine._

_…_

I closed my newly designed journal. I yawned as I leaned back in my chair and placed my quill next to the new rendition of Mannimarco's works. I was only on journal entry 2 out of 323. Damn…I still had a long way to go. Good thing it was only a couple hours later than when I began. I was going to begin as soon as I could again but now I really wanted something else to do.

As I sat up from my chair, I started thinking about Mannimarco. His reasons for doing what he did were natural. He wanted to understand everything about magic. How many times I wanted to do the same. But, to understand everything you must be willing to embrace the… scary stuff as well. I couldn't complain. I had to study every form of magic (except necromancy and blood magicka). Those were the only two magics forbidden to us. Our Queen did not want her magicians going insane and attacking her kingdom. That was the only reason why. Now, the Shadowmasters were permitted to study blood magicka if they wanted to but it was only under the promise that if they start to degrade mentally…they killed themselves. There was one Shadowmaster that degraded to that of a monster and he unleashed too much damage onto others using his blood magic. Since then, it has been watched very carefully and almost outlawed completely.

I walked to the door, still thinking about Mannimarco and his reasons. I mean, I couldn't say that his intentions were not misplaced, but understandable. Only, instead of finding what he wanted…he became a monster. He still became a lich but taking your heart out really does make you a monster. He became obsessed with power. He became the evil that the Psijic Order defended against.

As I came up to the door, I heard the door twist. The door opened up and in walked someone I never thought I'd see. He had the full robes of a Shadowwraith Dedicated. It was one step above my rank. I was a Shadowwraith Initiate. He had the same pink scales I had but he had dark blue hair that flowed just down over his collar. And he had the same eyes I had. We both took the color and eyes of our father, while our blue mother's genes were overlooked. Yes, I was looking at my older brother. I thought I'd never see him again.

"Biluuz!" I screamed as I rushed into his arms. I crashed into his chest and I felt him hesitate before he hugged me in return.

"Nakuma?" He asked. "When did you get here?"

"Just now!" I replied in return. "I'm assigned to the Shadow Squad."

His mouth almost dropped to the floor and he stood there, lost in his own world. I waited for him to return. When he did, he shook his head to clear away any thought that was pouring in his head. "You? Shadow Squad? You…the girl that exploded a frog when trying to turn him into a prince…got pulled into the Shadow Squad? You: the girl that set herself on fire when you sneezed." He finally smiled and punched me in the arm. "Stop joking. Seriously, though, you look tired. Been researching anything?"

I nodded and pointed back at the journal. "Shadowmaster Julanza wants me to research Mannimarco's journal and find out how to create some of the foulest magic ever known."

That froze him in his spot. He scoffed and walked over to my desk and started pouring through the journal as well as the notes Julanza left for me. When it finally crossed his mind that I was telling the truth, he started to look concerned. He looked over at me, back at the journal, sighed, and closed it. He placed the book down and rubbed the back of his head. He finally walked up to me and shook his head. "Looks like you weren't kidding, little sis. You have a lot on your plate. Do you wish to have any help?"

I shrugged. I wanted all the help I could get…but wasn't this _my_ assignment? I mean, I had to learn everything. I couldn't place this on my brother's shoulders. I finally sighed and looked over at the journal. "That journal has a lot of information inside it. Shadowmaster Julanza wants it all moved to a newer journal so that it won't fall apart while on our mission. Every time I read it and begin transcribing…I feel like retching. If you could help me with the copying part, I would be very grateful."

He nodded. "Do not worry, I've recreated plenty journals before. How about we get some food to eat and then we'll take turns making this new journal. I'll handle the more disgusting and violating chapters. I can take it."

I smiled and threw him into a hug. "Thank you, Biluuz. I doubted I could do this in five days."

"Five days?!" He shouted. He looked back at the journal and swallowed hard. He looked back at me, frantic. "Ok, let's go eat really fast and while I begin the next few chapters, I want you to brew as many Sleep Elixirs as possible."

I nodded. Man, I was glad my brother was here. With his help, I would certainly get this done before we left.

As we started leaving the room, my brother started contemplating several working schedules as to what we were going to do with this journal. Hundreds of pages needed to be written down in a tiny journal in a matter of five days. Not to mention all the pictures and scribbling included. The new journal had to look more or less like Mannimarco's. Perhaps it could be more organized and not so sloppy, but it still had to have the same information.

My brother was the more dedicated of us. We were born three years apart but we both ended up in the same academy. I think our mother and father purposefully looked at the stars and calculated the time of our birth, or perhaps hastened it. We were both born under the Mage Birthsign. Our father was also a Mage and our mother an Atronach. Yes, that is how we're described. Not only by our job titles but by our birth titles. When my mother was born, she was called an Atronach. She had a very knowledge-intense training in magic and research at the Atronach Academy of Magic. It was a lot like what we Shadowwraiths do but it was less about fighting and healing, and focused more on just researching. An investigator, a scholar, if you will.

My mother was always studying stars and whatnot. So, just by speculation by itself, she would have been able to determine when the Mage birthsign would have popped up. But why the Mage sign? Why not the Atronach? I would never know. Perhaps it was because the two of them were powerful mages and saw us becoming strong in magicka as well? I do not know, and to be honest it's all speculation anyway. It could just be a massive coincidence.

But anyway, my brother was the more dedicated of the two of us. He was also very protective of me. I remember once he threw himself in front of me to protect me from some Tower boys that were pushing me around. I couldn't ask for a better brother. And here he was, doing what he did best, helping me.

That wasn't to say that my brother was better than me. I was always the smarter one. When it came to natural ability, he was better than me. When it came to understanding intense theory behind something, I was the victor. Sure, he could form a Fireball within his first week of training (while I was sneezing fire out of my scales for the first three months). When it came time for him to describe how the mana takes the form of fire in the first place…that was me that answered on the spot. I would have made an excellent Atronach. But…we all have our lots in life. I'm a Mage.

"Ok, sis. We're coming up to the cafeteria now so…here are the rules." He said, stepping in front of me. He stuck his hand out to block me from the doorway. "Rule one: Mages all sit together. All signs sit together. It's not official but you will get some stares if you start sitting next to the Ladies or the Towers. Rule two: Stay away from the Shadowscales. They. Hate. Us. Period. Rule three: If someone from the Royal Family comes into the room, we must stand up and bow to them. If they talk to us, we need to talk back, and as respectfully as possible."

I nodded to him. Boy, it was like being back in High School all over again. Towers were the jocks, the Shadows the mysterious assassins, the Ladies the cheerleaders…if they were heavily unpopular. I guess the Shadows would be the jocks and the Towers the cheerleaders. The Ladies were like…I don't know…the janitors. And I…the Mage…was the weird kid with a worm collection.

"Ok, Biluuz. I get it. Don't stick out, right?" I asked him.

He pulled his arm away and nodded. "Yup, just like the school days. Stay beside me and I'll try my best to keep you safe. But…remember Rule Two. Don't even look them in the eyes. They _will_ kill you and it _will_ be legal."

I found myself swallowing and I stepped into the cafeteria. Biluuz stayed beside me. I looked around the room and found Shadowmasters around the edges of the room, watching all of us. I could see Shadowmaster Julanza standing near the darkest shadow of the room. When he saw me, I think I saw him smile before disappearing behind a shadow of his own creation.

My eyes drifted over the tables. There were almost hundreds of them. The room itself was huge, almost a palace in its own right. "Where are we?"

"The central hub for all Lilmoth. Think of it as the…grand plaza. Where all the big shopping malls and food centers are. It is here that we all like to gather to eat and socialize. Does not mean we can't go anywhere else, though. I just thought this would be a good place to start your tour of Lilmoth."

I looked up above us. The ceiling to the giant underwater half-bubble that was this room was showing enough water that was glowing from the outside sun that it helped light the inside park-like creation that was this room. That glass, I could tell, was enchanted with light-enhancing Illusion magic. It would take whatever sun rays it could get and amplified it. As it was, we were still pretty far underwater, but you'd never guess by looking up at the ceiling glass. It was also enchanted with many unbreakable enchantments. That glass would not shatter if the world exploded.

My brother took my arm and started pulling me over to the giant table settled around a beautiful garden near a few hills. The hills had stalagmites of crystals growing out, making the while collection of hills more enchanting and magical. I can see why the Mages chose this spot to call their own.

My brother waved to the Mages, who waved back. He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me in front of him. He chuckled as he said, "Everyone, this is my sister, Nakuma. She just graduated from the Shadow Magic Institute and has been assigned to the Warlord's personal Shadow Squad."

Everyone's mouth either gaped or their eyes almost bulged out of their heads. I could already see several boys my age make room for me to sit next to them. Seeing all their eager faces, I could tell that I had just become the Queen of Mages. Oh joy.

I jammed my elbow into my brother's side. "Thanks for that." I growled/whispered to him. I turned to look at him. "I'm going to get some food. You wait here."

"But…" He began.

I started walking away. "I want to look around without you standing over me." I just really wanted a few seconds to get my head straight.

So, I left my brother standing there with the other Mages. They all started asking him questions about what I was like and I could already tell that he was trying to match me up with another Mage. Great…I just found out that I loved Oleeme and now I was going to be forced into love politics with the other Mages. Good thing I only had like five days left here before I got to leave.

The town center was great, though. When you think of a cafeteria, you think of a medium or large room with tables sitting so close to each other that you can't really move around. You think of clicks of people so close that you can't get one word in without some other click hearing you say it. You think of long lines of people getting food. The room's bland, filthy, and smells like vomit.

But, that was not this room at all. This room was huge, round. The floor was green glass and bountiful flowers. Trees helped fill in the empty spots. The round room housed the eating facilities and the stores around the edges of the room. All the tables were toward the center of the town, still far enough apart that we could have private conversations as we pleased. This place wasn't so bad. If I got to live here for the rest of my life, I wouldn't complain.

My eyes were so busy studying the ceiling that I didn't notice someone standing in front of me. I crashed into someone and I felt something cold splash over my robes. I heard someone scream and I jumped back. I looked down at us both. I had some orange soup spilt all over my new Shadowwraith robes. Oh man, I just got these!

"You…" The person I bumped into said. I looked up at her. She was dressed in dark leathery armor. Oh crap…that was Shadowscale armor. The face that accompanied them were equally scary. She was a purple-scaled Argonian with cropped orange feathers. She looked down at her armor with wide eyes. When she looked up at me, I could see daggers appearing in her hands. "I'll kill you!" She screamed at me.

I was so shocked that I actually stood there and expected her to kill me. That's not what happened. As she came flying up at me, four arms materialized. One arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back. They belonged to my brother. Another arm wrapped around the Shadowscale and pulled her back; and that arm belonged to a blue-scaled Shadowscale. The other two arms belongs to Shadowmaster Julanza. He stepped between the four of us and pushed us all back with just his will.

That Shadowscale was still struggling against the other Shadowscale. "Let me go, Ram-ku. I'll kill that bitch for ruining my armor!"

Ram-ku persistently kept her back, taking several hits to the face in the process. "Let...oof…it go, Meesei! It was an…ow…accident."

My brother continued to pull me back as well. "See, sis? You step away from me for two seconds and you manage to piss off an assassin." He stepped in front of me and looked at Meesei. "Look, I'm sorry for anything she has done. She's new here. Can you just let her off with a warning?"

Shadowmaster Julanza stepped in front of Meesei. "That Shadowwraith you're threatening is a member of the Shadow Squad…as are you. I suggest you check your temper, Meesei, before we start our operation."

Meesei finally started calming down. She looked from Shadowmaster Julanza over to me. She finally groaned and pushed off of Ram-ku. She walked over to me, my brother still partially standing in front of me. She smiled weakly and then said, "Fine, I won't kill you today. But… if I ever get annoyed with you…well…I'd stop being you." Then she walked past me, throwing her shoulder into mine. I felt that shoulder spike slam into me, probably poking a hole in my scales at the same time.

Biluuz looked over at me and frowned. "You don't go anywhere without me, got it? You just came out of the Soul Chamber. You're still not fully aware of just how scatter-brained you can be yet."

I finally nodded. "Ok, Biluuz."

Ram-ku smiled as he walked up to me. He nodded and said, "I'm Ram-ku. We're both in the Shadow Squad, I hear." He nodded again and stepped around me. "Well, nice meeting you. And don't worry, I'll keep the scary Meesei away from you."

Shadowmaster looked over at me, finally relaxing his pose. He glanced down at my robes and sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad. He wrote something up and passed it to me. "Here, a requisition for new robes. That will stain."

Thanks?

* * *

_**Cearbhail: **Ok, so this chapter wasn't so bad. I know it was all in Nakuma's perspective but I feel that she does the best naration about the different birthsigns and other things. I was going to show Huir and the battlemage linking back up with the others but that will be next chapter as well. Well, anyway, I'll be working on the Chronicles of Lydia next so... I won't be updating this for a while._


	27. Ch 27: Voices in my head

**Cearbhail:** _Finally, we're done with the past fill-ins. Yes, this is the last chapter for all past expositions. I have tied every bit of information that I originally wanted to get out of my head so that I wouldn't forget my original string of facts. Yes, I have this massive web of things that happen in my head and I sometimes forget that a string leads somewhere so...I have to write it down. Oh, and if some of you read the Chronicles of Lydia (let's face it, you do), then this chapter will have an even nicer surprise that will rock your heads, maybe._

* * *

[Huir]

The Imperial City was more of a challenge to navigate than I thought. Most of the sewer entrances were covered in too much rubble to enter. All the buildings were destroyed. Bodies littered the ground. They smelled weeks old. I was amazed that the crows hadn't gotten to them yet, but there were so many that I guess there were just too many to eat. Weapons were everywhere. Bows, discarded arrows, bloodied swords, random staffs. Every time we came across potions or staffs, we passed them out to anyone that was capable of using it. Merete did her Battlemage thing and told us what the potions and staffs were created for. She has two new Lava Storm staffs hanging off her back. She thinks that her new staffs will help her melt any Aedra we run up against.

The civilians that we were transporting were picking up any bows and swords that they thought they could use. Everyone had their own bow and at least one dagger by now. Most of the daggers were enchanted by Merete and handed to the younger children. They needed to protect themselves as best they could. The daggers they were handed were enchanted with the strongest Warding spell Merete could muster as well as a Soul Separation spell that would make them invisible to any Aedra present. I was glad. We were finally finding ways to keep the young ones safe.

So, anyway. The town looked like it was hit by an A-bomb. Just like Bruma, just like Bravil. The Imperial City was now an Ayleid ruin by appearances. That does raise an interesting question. Is what happened to the Ayleids, the Dwarves, the Aldmer, the Chimer….did they all meet the same fate to the Aedra before? Are we just the next cycle to be referred to when the New-mer start talking about our sophisticated round porcelain bowl filled with water that was used to bless the gods? Our how we used ancient techniques long lost to build out buildings and weapons? I did not want to think about it. But this was our reality. If we did not fix this soon, we were going to become an endangered planet.

"Look, there's a sewer entrance." Merete called from beside me. She pointed out toward the center of the street that we were walking down. I had to squint my eyes, but I could see it. It was a manhole and it wasn't covered by something. That was probably our best way down to the sewers.

I glided across the street as stealthily as I could. Merete pounded her heavy-armored feet behind me, her chainmail clinching every step she took. Behind her were the group of civilians and town guards from Bruma and Cloud Ruler Temple. They were doing their own thing: somewhere between cowering behind fallen rubble and scowling at the sky, almost welcoming an Aedra invasion. I had no choice but to smile at their mixed faces. Hopefully, I would see hope shine in their eyes when we linked back up with the battlemages.

I paused by the manhole and inspected it. The cover was almost blown off of it and it was I clear drop straight down. The ladder must have been blown apart because I couldn't see anything to hold onto until about halfway down. So, I turned to Merete and smiled. "How about I go down and see about finding the others? You wait up here and watch the civilians."

Merete gave me a look of confusion. "Can you levitate?"

"Well, no."

"Can you defend yourself against countless enemies with a snap of a finger?"

"Yeah, if there's an arrow attached to it.." I started laughing.

Merete crossed her arms and gave me the strongest glare I'd ever seen. "Can you even get back up if you go down there?"

I pulled out my bow and an arrow. I pulled an arrow back, and without looking, tied a knot of my 50 foot long rope in the loop built into the arrow, and fired it off at a building nearby. I watched as my arrow soared through the sky, landing in between two cement blocks. I tugged on my rope to make sure the arrow was lodged and then smiled at Merete. "I think I'll be just fine, milady."

She rolled her eyes and walked over to one of the civilians. He was wearing a green cloak with a very nice-looking hood. She yanked it off his body. When he protested, she asked, "Are you about to go sewer diving?" When he shook his head, she passed it to me and said, "Here you go, 'Glass Arrow'." She said with a condescending tone.

I took the cloak from her with a wide smile. I know she was only worried for me and possibly a little sore about me taking her spot as the leader in this scenario. When I slipped the cloak on and put the hood up, I somehow felt…badass, and somewhat appropriate. People with bows should wear green cloaks with badass hoods. It's only natural. Especially with my glass-tipped arrows that look bright green.

With my new cloak on, I readied myself to rappel down the sewer. I gave one final wink to Merete before pushing off.

"So, where's the exit anyway?" I heard from a squeaky high-pitched crackly voice.

It was enough to make me pause before descending down the sewer. I looked up at Merete to see that she hadn't heard anything. It must have been my elven ears.

"If we continue up this pathway, you'll find the only sewer we found unburied. We broke the ladder so no one else to climb down." I heard an older male call from below me. It was an echo escaping the sewer, I could tell. I couldn't place where it was coming from, but I had a good feeling I knew where the voices were heading. I might as well let the people down in the sewer know about us.

I pulled myself back up, turning myself around to scream into the hole. "Hey, you down there! Are you the Imperial Resistance by any chance?"

I heard complete silence for the first few seconds. But then I heard someone yelling, "Yeah, that's us. Who is asking?"

"Battlemage Commander Hans the Hardy ordered us to link up with you! We're the survivors of Cloud Ruler Temple!" I yelled back.

Merete, the whole time, stood there with her arms crossed and a weird smile building on her lips. She finally shook her head, saying, "Only you would scream your location to possible enemies."

I nodded back at her. "I think the separation of all humanoids has ended. In a time of universal extinction, we're all allies." _Well, you think we'd be at least_.

It was a true notion. I was sure that somewhere there were bandits that would try to kill us even if there was an Aedra invasion happening all around us. People just hate regardless of the situation. They might even blame us while they were at it instead of accepting our offer to help. But, I was sure that we would never run into a situation like that.

When I saw the head of an old Dunmer looking up at me, I waved nicely to him. "Hiya, my name's Huir."

The Dunmer did not look amused. "Just toss down the rope. We have civilians of our own to evacuate and I'd like to get this ladder reattached before nightfall."

I tossed my rope down to him. I watched as he tied the end of the ladder to the rope and nodded to me. "Now, pull it up until it's level with the rest of the ladder. I will have a battlemage reattach the ladder by using their Fire magicka to mold it back into place."

I had to admit, it was a pretty simple plan. So, I pulled on the rope until it was high enough to reattach it. When it was back in place to where a younger female Dunmer was fixing it, I was left standing there, holding onto a rope with nothing else to do but wait until it was finished being glued back together. Might as well get a chat in.

"So, Merete? What are you going to do when this war is over?" I asked to her.

She looked put on the spot. So confused. When she couldn't think of anything, she shrugged. "You first?"

I nodded. No sense in not telling her. "I plan on moving to Skyrim with my wife."

"Your wife?" Merete asked softly. She finally nodded. "Makes sense. Why Skyrim?"

"I hear that Skyrim doesn't have pigs. I want to introduce pig meat to Skyrim's population, so I plan on moving my farm to Skyrim. I hear that Windhelm is a lovely town. Not to mention, Skyrim's hardly been touched by Aedra. There are still plenty of people there." I replied to her.

Merete nodded. "Well, I guess I'll be moving to Skyrim as well. Our old family farm was destroyed when the College of Winterhold blew up, but from what I hear, we still have family in Whiterun. My father planned on moving to Whiterun with my mom and recreating our old farm. Now that I know I'll at least have one friend up in Skyrim, I am thinking it's time to move back home. Imagine, our two families could become friends."

I chuckled at that. "I can imagine it now. Your great-granddaughter will become the High Queen of Skyrim and my grandson will become her personal chef and he'll just make life hell for her by feeding her pig-related stuff."

Merete arched an eyebrow. "What? How on nirn did you think up something like that? That's just stupid. That would never happen."

I nodded to her. "Yeah, you're probably right. That does sound nice, though. Our families becoming friends. I'm sure my daughter would like having a friend like you around."

"You have a daughter?" She asked. "I never would have guessed."

"Yeah, she's a cute little healer. Name's Primrose." I called back to her. "I don't really know what happened to her, though. Last I heard, she was at the Arcane University studying Restoration. I was hoping to find her once we got here."

The Dunmer reattaching the ladder looked up at me with a bright smile. "You're looking for Primrose? Does she have green hair?"

I shrugged. "I haven't seen her in years. Her hair was more blond with green flakes back then. Why? Do you know a Primrose with green hair?"

The Dunmer nodded. "She's one of my best friends. I'll make sure you see her when we come up."

I found myself smiling. I hadn't seen my daughter since she was a tiny little thing. I only got to hear about her from my jail cells. I sure hope she remembered me.

…

[Nakuma]

I was standing by a table that had a body lying on top of it. The body was carved into, split open, revealing all the internal organs. The body was still alive, however. I could hear the screams of the Argonian crying out in pain as I looked inside his body, studying the magic that flowed through his being, the magic that circulated into his heart. It was the magic that allowed him to live. It was his soul. I wanted to know every little secret about that soul: how it worked, why it worked, and how I could keep it working forever. The answer was right in front of me, all I had to do was eat that heart and find out what it tasted like.

As I reached into the Argonian's body and grasped his heart, I could feel it pumping wildly as the Argonian cried out in murder. If it wasn't for the massive amounts of magicka that I poured into him to keep him from passing out from pain, I wouldn't have a heart filled with so much duress. It made my work so much easier to comprehend. A heart taking on as much emotional energy as possible. This was the most energy the heart could survive handling at one go.

I closed my eyes and concentrated on the heart. The energy that gathered inside was not the whole soul, it was merely a fragment of it. The heart was exactly as one would think it would be: the moral center. I could now see the soul for what it was, a collection of energies combined into one. The heart was but only a piece of the soul. There were two smaller strings of soulic energy reaching out. One traveled to the groin, the other to the head. I had a feeling I knew what the other parts of the soul pertained. I could do without knowing about the groin for now, but the brain…I had to know.

I picked up my saw and slowly made my way up to the Argonian's head. He glared wide-eyed at me, his expression filled with so much fear and pain that it almost made me feel sick. Why was I doing this? I continued to ponder that while I placed my saw down on the crown of his head and started pushing and pulling the saw. I felt the warm blood splash me in the face, I could hear the horrendous screams of the Argonian, I could see him thrashing as hard as he could, trying to escape what appeared to be nothing more than torture. And I was doing this to him. Why?

I looked down at the face of the Argonian to see that it was my brother. I screamed in horror as I jumped back. I instantly opened my eyes and found myself falling backwards out of my chair. I hit the floor pretty hard, hitting my head. Stars danced in front of my eyes and I continued to lie on the ground, still kinda in my seat. Was…Was that a dream? What the shab was that? I never had dreams like that in the past.

I continued to lie there and just glance up at the ceiling. It was a lovely soft blue with silver stars painted into it. The stars glowed brightly and then dully, like you'd see in a normal sky, if you saw stars in the middle of the day at least. It really helped me put things into perspective. Ok, I had a dream. No, I was not killing anyone, or experimenting on them. So…why did I have that dream anyway?

I rolled off of the chair and pushed it back up. We had the entire journal almost translated now. It turned out that Mannimarco had completed the machine toward the end of the journal. I was just getting to the machine itself, the concept behind it. The dream that I had was from way earlier, almost halfway through the whole journal. I sure hoped that dreams like that would stop coming. I needed my sleep.

I sat down in my chair again and looked at the journal. It showed the diagrams for what the machine looked like and has plenty of highlights about the specifics on the parts. I quickly pulled out a quill and started sketching the designs into my replacement notebook. It seemed pretty standard.

"You're messing up my design. That connector is not bassanium, it's neutranium." I heard a light voice call from behind me. I almost jumped out of my chair as I spun my head around.

Standing near the doorway was a face I'd never thought I'd see. It was an Altmer with dark black robes with the image of a green skull imprinted on it. It was Mannimarco.

I reached for my wand and raised it to him. "What do you want!" I screamed at him. "Tell me, or I'll blast you!"

He smirked at me, raising his hands ever so gently. "Easy, child. I can't hurt you…well, not physically anyway. But like I said, 'you're screwing up my design'. If you want to get it right, then draw it right." He let his hands drop and he walked up to my table. He glanced down at the two journals and pointed at both his and mine. "See this spot right here…you drew the wrong thing."

I looked down at my picture, seeing that I had drawn something incorrect. "So…am I still dreaming or am I just going crazy?"

He smirked up at me. "Can you ever be sure that you're never dreaming, or that you're ever awake? Or that you've always been sane? What is insanity, who defines it, what qualifies it?" He waved his finger at me, beckoning me forward. "I'll tell you who defines it…weak people." He walked through me, making me feel chilled to the bone. "You are experiencing a soul absorption. A shadow journal was created by me so that I could live forever, share my knowledge with the next person to read it, want to know it. You have gone even further, you have tried to recreate it. You and I…" He smiled at me. "are now linked together. Your mind is now my home. I do admit, I always wondered what it would feel like to be a lizard."

I paused and reached out to touch Mannimarco. It was a combination of fear and astonishment that made me do this. My hand passed right through him. "So, I'm guessing that only I can see you?"

He laughed quietly at that. "Since I'm in your head? Yes. Oh, and your brother as well. But I doubt you both can see me at the same time…well, the same me at least."

"Are you the real Mannimarco? Or are you just a recording?" I found myself asking again.

He outright laughed at that. "Oh the joy of being able to chat after being locked in that book for centuries." He threw himself up onto the table, sitting down and glaring at me. "You asked me if I was the 'real' Mannimarco? I assume you mean if I'm the me that died in the uprising and the fall of the Mages Guild. Hmm…yes and no. That Mannimarco was me, but was a different me. He existed in the physical reality, I'm his mental recollection. But, that still makes me Mannimarco. A soul, as you just witnessed, is the combination of our minds, our hearts, and our sexual desires. All three function within us, making us who we are. When Mannimarco wrote his shadow journal, all his thoughts, emotions…desires, were filled in with his words. I am his soul, in every aspect of the word. So…I am Mannimarco."

I continued to look at him for a few seconds before I turned back to his journal. "I don't know if I should be terrified or excited at having you around. But, I can't do anything about it until I'm at least done transcribing this journal anyway."

"I have shown myself because I know why you need my journal. Our minds are linked. I know everything you've ever done, your fears with my magic, your fears with me. I feel that you are worthy of recreating my legacy. I was not able to finish my research. But…I feel that you can. You can bring me back to life." He called from behind me.

"An enemy to most of everything-kind? Hell no." I responded as I continued sketching. I was almost done with this design. As far as I could see, I was on the last ten pages. I would be done by tonight if I could get focus on this.

"In time, you'll start to like having me around." I heard his voice whisper lightly at my neck. I felt my spines shiver with disgust as he somehow vanished. Good, now I could get back to work. _You messed up that black soul gem. It has 35 specks on the design, not 34._ Oh great, now I'm hearing voices inside my head that aren't mine.

…

[Nexa]

"Blades Master Jauffre, I can see that your scouts have found the Tsaesci." My father said as he glared up at the floating world.

I was getting tired of standing here all day and watching it. My training was finally back up to where I was before. My body was almost fully recovered and my spirits were high. I was still required to train with Shadowmasters Julanza and Yuvenni in the mornings and the early afternoons. The rest of my day was here in this room where I spent most of my time entertaining the war leaders when they wanted a break. And now that I was getting back in shape, I was finding myself being hit on by some of the shadowblades. I was somewhat of a hot item, regardless of my possible rebellious actions that were called 'treason'. I was shocked to find out that a lot of Argonians outside of the Shadowscale circle actually respected me because I went against my orders. Even some of the shadowblades were proud of me because I didn't just do as ordered. I had them convinced that I only did as ordered, however. I can't be sure who might be trying to trap me into confessing my actions the night I led my friends away from here. Maybe someday I can tell the truth, but that day is not today.

The Blades leader, Jauffre, nodded to my father, leaning forward. "Yes, my scouts have just reported that to me a few minutes ago."

I watched as my father paced around in circles around the map. I was just used to seeing all the leaders of the world gathered around this map. The Altmer named Fiirnar who worked for the biggest organization of elven warriors/spellcasters: the Aldmeri Dominion. Then there was Ri'Saddo, the first Khajiit to ever walk these halls and see Lilmoth. He was the Mane's personal assistant so he was as close to the Mane as we could get to having around here. Following that we had our newest guests: Sosia Ernard and Jauffre…something I'm sure. There were some other creatures also on my father's leader list, but they were out and about, doing their own thing. I don't know exactly who or what they were.

"And your mages, Sosia? How are they fairing?" My father asked her.

"According to my latest reports, they are scattered but the majority of them have returned to their forts and are preparing numerous enchanted weapons, armor, clothing, jewelry. They are doing all they can to prepare for the worst. My battlemages are responding to the threat of the Aedra nicely. We have six new troops all out and doing what they can under Battle Commander Han's orders." The Arch-Mage replied.

"Where is this Hans? Has he left already?" Father asked.

Arch-Mage nodded. "Yes. He couldn't stand being here. I think the death of his wife hit him harder than I would have guessed. He escorted my daughter to Fort Grief, our strongest best warded fort that we have at the moment. He's running all the operations via crystal balls to all of our teams. He responds to all data and information I give him, as well as relay orders I have. He'll be fine at Fort Grief."

My father looked over at Ri'Saddo, giving him what looked like an attempt at a smile. "Ri'Saddo. You know of the ruin we are looking for, right?"

Ri'Saddo shrugged. "Khajiit have many ruins. This ruin you told Ri'Saddo of…it does not surprise Ri'Saddo that one may exist. Its location, Khajiit have no knowledge of, however. Ri'Saddo will organize scouting parties of Khajiit to go out and look for ruin. Khajiit will try to be fast as can be, so that this war can be over before it's too late."

My father nodded. "Well, that's the best we can hope for." He looked over at me and nodded. "Nexa, you have three days before our escort arrives. You can have those three days to yourself. Report to me on Sundas evening for your mission. I'll fill you in on the specific information at that time."

I nodded to my father. "Yes, thank you, Warlord. I shall go prepare my travel bag." I couldn't wait to see if Vatu was still alive.

* * *

_**Cearbhail: **Well, next time I write a chapter, it will be back in the present. Now I have to do some research so I remember what the shab is even going on in the present._


	28. Ch 28: United war

**Cearbhail:** _And I'm back, baby. I know, I know. It's been like...forever since I've even posted on this story. I really wanted to do this chapter justice and here it is... justice served hot and steamy. Enjoy._

* * *

[Warlord Zeelius]

The war room was a giant cluster of everyone screaming into their crystal balls. Ri'Saddo was making every report and command he could to all his combatant forces, trying to coordinate all those forces with the Aldmeri mages and knights. Sosia was coordinating every battlemage she could, with healers coming out of her arse. The Blades were just now marching up onto the battlefield where our objective waited for us. The new war leaders were still getting acquainted with how things worked around here, while organizing their forces as well.

The map was a giant collection of red in one spot. Almost every living Aedra was now circling around Cheydinhal. My Shadow Squad was there with a collection of battlemages and healers. They were in the thickest of the battle. Our objective was to send in a massive wave of mages and fighters to break up the Aedra, split their attention so my Shadow Squad could sneak out with the seer. Ri'Saddo was now getting Khajiit scouts prepared for the arrival of the Shadow Squad. They were going to escort them to the ruin. The Khajiits knew their land better than anyone and could lead my Shadow Squad through the harshest of environments.

The busiest of all of us was Councilor Fiirnar. He paced back and forth, holding two crystal balls in his hand. Both of the crystal balls glowed frantically with images flashing every few seconds. He was coordinating with every squad of Aldmeri mages. They were linking up with every squad of anyone that needed teleported to the battlefield. We expected everyone to be ready within the next few minutes. We weren't going to send in anyone until we were all ready. This would only work if it was coordinated. If someone went in early, it could be a repeat of Bruma.

Even more than that, it was the placement we had to deal with. The squads were separated equally so that we would have a balanced attack. If you can imagine just how much work we put into this in just two minutes, you'd be amazed at just how we could work together to solve this issue. This was it, this was our stand, our battle, our war. We were taking charge and showing the Aedra that we weren't running anymore. We're taking our planet back, or die trying.

"Warlord, we're ready." Shadowmaster Yuvenni called from behind me.

I spun on my heel and nodded to her. "Then take all Shadowwraiths, Shadowscales, Shadowblades, Shadowmasters, Black Marshals, Elementals, and White Robes to their posts. We shadowport any minute."

Yuvenni bowed to me, her eyes expressionless. "As you wish, Warlord." She vanished into a void.

I spun on my heel again and looked over at Fiirnar. "That was the only thing we were waiting on. Let's blow the whistle."

_{Warlord, I am not ready, yet.} _Kinlop's voice called through my ear piece. His face appeared on my crystal ball. His face was covered in mud and I could see him standing in front of a tree.

I had forgotten about Kinlop and the Lilmothiit scouts. Well, more like special forces. His troops were as good as my shadowblades and Kinlop himself was as good as any of my shadowmasters. They lived in Argonia with us but we never saw them much, that should tell you just how good they were. We lived in peace, but I guess if it came to war, it would be equaled, even if their numbers did not come even close to ours.

I looked into the crystal ball. "Are you even in this attack?"

He nodded. "We will be there shortly. I can see the waves of Aedra now. We would have been there sooner, but I have rendezvoused with the Sload leader, Slaaa. He is very slow, even when teleporting. We've done all we can to get here and set up, but he's still slowing us down."

"Am I to guess he won't be joining us up here in the war room then?" I asked in return.

Kinlop shook his head. "No, he will be there shortly. He's making sure his troops are prepared for this. It might take a few minutes."

"How about we just start our attack and then you can join in when you are able. Can I trust one of your own to protect the Shadow Squad?" I asked into the ball. Everyone was watching the two of us talk.

Kinlop nodded. "Yes, I will task my son with the task. Tell your squad to expect Brinsa within the minute." The image of Kinlop blinked away.

I turned to face my fellow war leaders. "This is the time. What we do here today will change our lives forever. Are we ready to make history?"

Everyone nodded. Tsaevashi slivered up to me and clasped my arm in his. He gave me a grave nod before hissing out his answer. "We will fight with all we have. Let this be the minute the Akaviri and Tamriel join forces."

I alone have pulled all the war leaders together. This was because of me, of my queen. Argonia has done the impossible and brought the world together. I sure hoped this made it easier to take it over. I glanced over at the Queen and she shook her head silently. She knew I still thought of taking over the world, but even I was starting to see just how messed up it could become. Maybe she was right, the world was evolving into something greater. All of us united. Perhaps we could have a balanced existence. Well, we'll see after this war is over. I'm not settled on that idea just yet.

I watched as everyone made the call. This was it. We're really doing this. I pulled the map back and watched as hundreds of blue dots simultaneously filled the circle of Aedra. I pulled up several other images surrounding each of the edges. Aldmeri knights were drawing their swords while Fighters Guild members drew theirs as well. Mages: beast, human, and elvish all took hands as they started their chant. Every mage in the entire battle were chanting the same thing. It was a Soul Separation of the largest ever created. Within that bubble was an enchantment of Warding created to incinerate any Aedra. Once the bubble closed, no Aedra could leave or come in. With the Soul Separation installed, they wouldn't even know it was there.

Archers lined up in the back, dipping their arrows in oil. Upon release, I could see hundreds of arrows flying into the sky. The battlemages standing beside them released flares into the clouds of Aedra. It was only seconds before the sky lit up into a cloud of fire and smoke. Our war had begun.

…

[Crassi]

I tucked my head in as I jumped forward. The ground behind me exploded into a massive wave of dirt. I rolled onto my feet and jumped forward again. The ground behind me exploded again. I paused and jumped back. I counted the impacts that surrounded me. Four on my right, six on my left. My leg cried out in pain. It felt like someone slammed a fireball into my leg and then exploded it.

I looked around very briefly, looking for my friends. I could see some of them frantically running from swarms of Aedra. Others had formed up in a tight group, raising their swords to the Aedra, prepared to fight. That was where I wanted to be. I pushed forward to sprint to them but my leg locked up on me and I fell myself falling forward. I pulled myself into a roll instead. I ended up in a hole and stopped. I cried out in pain. I couldn't move my leg. I felt the Aedra forming above me. So, I rubbed my bracelet and brought up my ward spell. A bubble of warding magic blipped up around me just in time to protect me from a barrage of hellfire. The ground all around me exploded into dust. I found myself falling even deeper into the hole as the hole grew bigger.

I wondered if this would be the end. No, it couldn't be. I pushed myself up onto my good foot and looked up at the swarm of Aedra. My ward blipped away and I was suddenly on my own. I looked up at the Aedra, drawing my sword. I had no armor anymore. My magic was down to almost nothing. This was it. My final stand.

The Aedra circled above me like a cloud of hornets. There were millions of them. I was a fool if I think I could just walk away from this. We all were. What was all this for anyway? A seer? It was the only hope we had and right now… my only hope seemed to have brought every living Aedra into this battlefield.

My bad leg popped and I fell to my knees. I cried out in pain. The swarm of Aedra above me paused. They all looked over at my spot. I forgot that they were blind and they were reacting to the sound of my footsteps. They thought they had killed me in that barrage. Now they knew I was still alive. Their hands warmed up with the Restoration magic. The same Restoration magic that was going to kill me.

That's when it happened. I could see they sky light up into a massive orange and black field of fire and oil. The Aedra looking down at me all turned and glared up at the sky, hissing out in anger as they did so. One or two of them looked back down at me and launched their attack. I pushed forward to dodge but I came up short with my bad leg locking up.

I closed my eyes and awaited the painful end. It never came. When I looked up, I saw the most beautiful disgusting slug I've ever seen. It was a fat slug thing with small squinty eyes and bulbous arms. It had summoned a giant circle of ward magic. The slug continued to hold it there and slowly lowered its head to look down at me. "Be…..still…" It said slowly, almost hesitantly. "Summon.."

I heard rather than saw all the Daedric summoning portals ripping open. I saw several clanfear pull themselves along with scamps out of the ground around me. When I heard a churl cry out a death cry and saw it jump into the sky to right the Aedra, I knew that this creature had summoned all these Daedra while holding a warding spell above my head. That was so impressive. This creature had more magicka inside him than most mages in the Mages Guild.

The Aedra became active again, all beginning to fight the Daedra. The slug dropped the ward and looked down at me. "Need….healed…" He slowly said to me monotone. When he tilted his bulbous head to me, I figured out he was asking a question.

I nodded. "Yes, I think my leg is broken."

That was when a black-scaled Argonian jumped down into the role. She was wearing a white robe. I had never seen anything like it. She paused by me and bent down to my leg. "I'm Pakinla, I'm a white robe, a healer. Please just be patient and I'll have your leg healed in no time." She looked up at the slug and nodded to him. "This is Aaslaa, he's a Sload. He's been assigned to your battlemage troop, as have I, and several others. Don't worry, your friends are fine. Most of them are injured but alive. Other white robes are tending to them as we speak. The other Sload are summoning as much Daedra as they can to keep the Aedra busy. Don't worry, we'll get out of here alive."

"Who died?" I asked to her.

She shrugged. "No one that I could see. Everyone seems just fine. You've done well, keeping them alive as long as you have. Most other leaders would have frozen under this pressure, but you've done well. Sosia sends her regards, as does Hans."

I let out a breath I never noticed I had built up. Our reinforcements had finally arrived. So, this was the help they were promising us? I couldn't be happier. I wasn't sure how much longer I could have lasted, let alone any of my friends. I had lost contact with them not even a minute ago. I sighed my relief as golden energy flowed into my leg. It felt wonderful to have that pain dulled a little.

Pakinla looked down at me and smiled. "Good news, your leg muscles were only torn. I can pull them back and reattach them in only a minute. It might hurt a little, but I'll try to take as much pain out as I can."

"Thanks." I breathed out. This was good, I like this. I was still processing the fact that we weren't alone anymore and I wasn't going to die soon. I was so elated that I thought I was going to hug Pakinla any second. In fact, it wasn't even a thought anymore. I pushed up and wrapped my arms around her, happy as hell to have a healer and a full army at my back.

Pakinla smiled as she patted my back. "I see the shock is now wearing off. Instant relief, I'm sure. Uncontrollable elation. Just sit back, take a few deep breaths, and allow your mind to settle. We'll take it from here."

I did just that. I needed a break after all this.

…

[Nexa]

"Nakuma! Keep up!" I screamed behind me to the shadowwraith behind me. The shadowwraith was tripping over her robes, trying to keep up with us.

Vatu raced beside me, his voice growling out. "Nisha better be alive. If she's even injured, I'll take out every fucking Aedra in this place."

I looked over at Vatu as we both jumped over a ditch. "Vatu, you can't go blood-rager. My squad will kill you if you become dangerous."

He looked over at me. "If I lose my sister, I won't have a reason to not die."

I smirked at him. "Really? Primrose and I are not enough _reason_?"

He looked forward, growling. "No matter what, one of you two are going to get hurt. If I die, at least I won't have to pick one over the other."

I shook my head. I glanced ahead of us to see the reinforcements had arrived. I could see the Daedra climbing out of their portals and attacking the Aedra. The seer, Lilly, ran to the opposite side of me and Vatu. She glanced over at me with a smile. "Don't worry, Vats, your sister is alive. She wouldn't get married to Prashin if she died."

"Prashin?" Vatu asked. "Who the shab is that?"

Lilly smiled. "I won't say…not yet at least." She smiled even deeper. "And I won't mention who _you_ pick as well." She looked ahead of us. "It feels good to know how this story will end. So damn good." She looked over at me. "I'm just glad I get to be a part of it." Lilly paused, pushing us with her magicka. "Stop!"

The ground in front of us exploded into dust as a carpet-bombing squad of Aedra soared overhead. I pulled out my short swords and prepared for combat, but someone was ahead of me. I watched as the squad of Aedra started falling from the sky and exploding. I watched as Huir stepped forward, ten more arrows in his hand. He flashed as he loaded and fired his bow. The remaining Aedra fell from the sky, exploding almost instantaneously. He looked over at Lilly, nodding his head. "Thanks for the heads up, ma'am. I almost missed 'em."

Lilly smiled ridiculously. "Just trying to help as best I can." She started running back to the rest and screamed back to us. "We shouldn't waste any more time."

I rolled my eyes. "You can teleport, right? Why not just teleport there?"

Lilly pointed up at the sky. "The Aedra have summoned an anti-teleportation spell. We can come in…but we cannot leave or move."

I looked up at the sky. That was new, I had never heard of Aedra doing that. I wonder if my father had learned of that. "Did you hear that father? The Aedra have teleportation restriction spells now."

_{We heard. Don't worry, we'll win this fight either way. Our numbers are still as strong as when we sent them in. the Aedra have dropped significantly. We are going to win this.}_ My father's voice called into my ear. That was good to hear. We're finally fighting back.

* * *

_**Cearbhail: **not sure if it's good or great, or even subpar, but this is the way the story will start playing out now... well until the unspeakable event happens that will force Nexa to make her ultimate choice... but... who will join her and who will try to kill her? Coming sooner than you may think._


	29. Ch 29: Someone dies

**Cearbhail:** _I hope I don't ruin the surprise too early. Well, anyway. Enjoy._

* * *

[Nisha]

_Nisha's diary_

_Mid Year 16, 4e003 Freedas._

_I figured now would be a good time for me to write what could be my final words. Vatu, my brother, I love you. I know when you read this that you'll flip out and kill every Aedra on the whole planet. And then those scaly-heads will try to kill you. And then you'll kill them. But it's ok to not kill them. I'll see you again someday. Not that I'm dying, but… it's just so chaotic out here that I want you to have something to remember me by in case I DO die. You know… today is the 16th of Mid Year. It's the Mid-Year celebration today. We should do something to celebrate once this battle is over. Maybe a cake. Brother, if I don't make it to the party tonight… please eat some cake for me._

_And to the big-nose chasing after my brother…be nice to him. And to pointy-ears, don't be too sad that I'm gone. I feel that you only liked me because I'm related to my brother. I hope it's not entirely true. I always wanted a sister to play with. You've been that to me these past few months. Take care of my brother for me. He needs someone with a kind heart to watch over him, and big-nose is cold-blooded._

_Nisha._

_…_

I closed my diary and covered my head as someone behind me exploded. If I closed my eyes, I didn't have to see the raining intestines and if I concentrated on how much the color pink reminds me of Mother's nose, I won't focus on the blood raining down on me. I was in my happy place, in my Mom's arms, listening to her hum me to sleep. I was not surrounded by people killing each other; I was brewing potions under a bright sky with beautiful clouds. Yes, and Vatu was napping up against a tree with Nexa twirling a flower in her fingers.

I started freaking out when someone suddenly wrapped their bony arms around my stomach and hauled me up. I opened my eyes to see one of the liches lifting me up. I looked behind him to see the line of mages and archers retreating. The lich was flying in the air, clinging me closely to its chest. The place where I was sitting was now a pile of dust that some Aedra had bombed into the ground. Were we losing? I thought we had this fight in the bag.

I looked up into the sky to see several other liches all flying around. Some of the liches had their skin, some of them were rotting corpses, and others were just bone. I remember my Uncle J'skar was a lich and he had left to find his skin. No one had seen him since. We all wondered what happened. Maybe my savior would know.

"Excuse me?" I asked to the bony face with eyes lit up with a light green fire.

He turned to look down at me. I could tell he was trying to smile. "Oh, don't mind me. I'm just keeping you safe, as ordered."

I shook my head. "That's not what I was about to ask. Do you know J'skar?"

He nodded. "Yes, he is one of the newly awakened."

"Do you know where he is, or what he is doing?" I screamed to him as he started speeding up. Several Aedra were pursuing us, blasting visible balls of Restoration magic.

The skeleton shrugged a bit and tilted his head to the side as he did so. "I believe he left to find out how to recreate his skin. Many of us do so the first time, but as more time passes, it becomes distasteful to recreate our bodies. The process is morally questionable, and even though we became liches to live forever, we are not necessarily evil. Most of us are just scholars that want to know it all, to feel it all. I was once such a mage. I wanted to find a way to save my wife's life. By the time I learned how to become a lich, she was already dead. Sure, I could reanimate her body, but…without the soul…what do I have? A shell of the woman I loved? I couldn't desecrate her body in such a way. So, instead, I became a lich myself so that I could share my knowledge with hundreds others with all the research I did on Restoration magic. I was a great herald to the healing arts. A sage…if you will."

"Thanks…but I didn't ask for your life story." My reply came out more deadpanned than I was proud about. I thought all liches were evil, but I guess I was wrong. He seemed like a decent man.

He seemed to chuckle. "When you get to my age and you find a person who's not afraid of you…you'll understand." The lich carrying me suddenly cried out in pain and we started falling. He pushed me out of his arms, screaming, "Grab my leg!"

When he reached out for a kick, I snapped my claws out and dug my non-existent talons into his leg. I slipped for a second, but it was enough to slow me from falling off him. The lich spun around, me still squirming to find a solid hold on his leg, and brought up his hands to fight the several Aedra spinning around us. As the Aedra started hammering us with their spells, my new lich friend threw up a round barrier that warded all magic away. He forced a yell as a ball of fire formed in his hands. "We might not be a natural product of this world, but we are connected to the spiritual side of this plane. As such, my magical capacity is greater than some fallen angel." He launched his hands forward, a giant wave of fire magicka roaring forward.

The Aedra brought their own barriers up and his attack rolled right over them. The Aedra continued to stand there, staring him down. That's when I noticed something different. The Aedra reached into their robes. And they pulled out weapons. Three of them pulled out these beautiful golden swords that shined with a brilliant sheen that reminded me of the sun. The others had pulled out a similar style bow. What I didn't see were arrows. When one of the Aedra pulled its bow back and an arrow just magically appeared, I think I understood where the arrows came from.

My new friend didn't seem all that impressed. "300 years and they think that I don't own my own sword?" He snapped his fingers and a portal ripped open. He reached into the portal and pulled out a giant claymore with engraved runes that glowed a soft blue and then a hot red. "I am Sword Master Shinji Gray-Mane. If you understand my speech then hear this now, Aedra. I will be your salvation. I will be your end."

Shinji looked down at me, almost smiling. "I'm sorry, Nisha, but our time has now been cut short. I will trust you in the hands of my friend." He said as he shook his leg. He kicked me so fast that his leg just slipped right out of my hold.

The wind suddenly took me and I watched as Shinji vanished, reappearing almost instantly in front of the Aedra, conducting a sword slash on the first one's face. The Aedra seemed ready for him and the two of them started fighting head-on while the other Aedra took pot shots at Shinji. He looked like he was doing just fine, however, not even appearing worried about the fight.

Once I felt that he was safe, I started worrying about _my_ position. I was falling to my death after all. I suddenly came to a halt as some strong arms caught me mid-air. I could see the black robes of another lich holding onto me. But this one was not bones, but soft fur. It was a Khajiit. But…the only Khajiit lich that I know of would be…

"Hello, little Nisha. It's been too long." Uncle J'skar's voice purred out as a raspy welcome.

I looked up to see him, fur and all, smiling down at me. He looked like he was a normal cat again. His eyes looked as alive as ever. I spun myself around and gave him a big hug. I knew I'd see him again. And just in time. We did have a party tonight after all. I would make sure of it now.

I found myself crying. It'd been so long since I had shed tears like this. It just felt so nice to have him here. He was the closest thing I had to a parent now. Sure, we weren't even clan related, but he was the only Khajiit we had around, and he took care of Vatu and I when our problems were Khajiit related. He was our second father, even if Adam was our first. And he was dead too. I had lost too many family members. I don't think I could handle another.

He rubbed me on the back of my head, scratching me lightly. I quickly calmed down, relaxing as he continued scratching my head. He still knew how to relax me. Same ol' J'skar. I looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Uncle J'skar!"

He looked down at me, smiling. Then he looked back up at Shinji, who was busy fighting the Aedra. "Where is your brother?"

I pointed over to Cheydinhal. "He's rescuing a seer. Hey! What took you so long anyway?"

He shrugged. "I met this little blind girl that wouldn't leave me alone. She did help me with my quest, though. That was nice of her." He started floating away from Shinji, hugging me close. We could see my brother running as fast as he could as the ground exploded in front of him. Several Aedra flew past overhead, blasting more bombs down on him. "Well, let's go give your brother some back-up. Do you still have some oil?"

I motioned to my backpack and nodded. "Yup, right here in my astral bag. I stored as many as I could, in case I ever needed it."

He smiled. "Good, because I have a plan."

…

[Vatu]

I swallowed hard as I looked up at Nexa. She was lying on top of me, pushing me flat to the ground. She was pressed up against my body, glaring forcefully down at me. "Vatu, keep it under control! You can't do this, not here!"

"I can't control it…" I managed to say as my teeth started to sharpen, my fur beginning to stand on end.

Seeing Primrose getting hit in the shoulder like that had hit me harder than I thought it would have. I could only see her blood flying into the air, hearing her scream in pain. Then I paused to see if I could help her. Then Nexa tackled me to the ground, crying, "Vatu, watch out!" The ground exploded behind us. We rolled for a bit and Nexa ended up on top of me. That's when I felt the change coming. And then Nexa went from protecting me to keeping me pinned down.

Primrose was no longer conscious. She was lying quietly, bleeding freely. She was going to die if I didn't do something soon! I had to at least try.

"Oleeme, Nakuma! Don't just stand there, heal her!" Nexa screamed.

The two Argonian mages rushed up to her, pouring magicka into her wound. I could see that it was starting to seal now. Good, I couldn't bear to see her go without at least giving an answer to her question. And judging from my reaction, I think I know who I can't live without.

But that didn't stop my growing inability to control my emotions. Now that the top was popped, it was starting to fizz out. "Vatu, calm down! Don't make me do this!" Nexa screamed at me. Like that was going to help.

The Aedra were spinning around, flying right back up to us. My arms started tensing up and my vision was starting to blur. This was it…I couldn't stop it any longer.

"BROTHER!" I heard Nisha's high-pitched call through my dreary state. My vision instantly came back.

I looked up to see Nisha and…J'skar flying up to us. My sister waved frantically to me as she came closer. J'skar gave Nisha a light shake, saying, "Now!"

Nisha opened her backpack and tossed a bunch of vials of oil into the sky. J'skar smiled and snapped his fingers. The vials of oil multiplied by hundreds and became flying missiles. The flying bottles of oil flew out to the Aedra surrounding us.

Nisha stuck her hand out, blasting a fireball to one of the vials. The vial exploded into a fiery blaze that spread across the sky. That explosion set of all the other bottles of oil, lighting the sky into a beautiful soft blue fire that melted the Aedra on impact. Oil and fire was their greatest weakness. According to the myths, the only thing that could kill an angel was fire lit by holy oil. Well, we got rid of the holy part and just threw oil instead. It still works just fine.

All my instincts to rip the Aedra apart started to fade away. Nexa was still pushing down on me very hard, glaring into my eyes as hard as she could, scanning me for any sign of me becoming a blood-raging Khajiit. She finally smiled, loosening her hold on my arms. "Well, your eyes are turning back to yellow. I guess I can get off you now. Or…we could stay like this for a little longer."

"Nexa…my sister's here." I responded, deadpanned. Seriously, as far as a joke goes, that wasn't very funny.

Nexa shrugged and stood up, taking my claw and pulling me up with her. "Ok then, we'll do that later then." She said, patting me on the shoulder. I only rolled my eyes at her comment. And I thought Primrose was bad. Neither of them were helping me.

Speaking of Primrose, I heard her gasp out a quick breath. I looked past Nexa to see her reaching up at Nakuma's hand. Nakuma took her hand, saying comforting words to her. Primrose was crying out in pain, tears rolling out of her eyes. I rushed up to her, taking her other hand.

"Primrose, don't worry. You'll be just fine!" I said to her, giving her hand a light squeeze. She glanced up at me and smiled thinly.

"Vatu?" She managed to whisper. Then she passed out. Her hand became lifeless and I thought that she had died. But I could notice that her chest was rising and falling. She was breathing. That was good.

"Brother!" My sister called up at me.

I turned around just in time to see her freefalling down at me, smiling from ear-to-ear. I reached out in time to catch her, but the impact did force me to crash into the ground. I hugged her close. "I'm so glad you're safe, Nisha!"

She pushed me away and rushed up to Primrose. "I didn't jump down to see you! I wanted to see Primrose before she passed out."

_Of course you did._ I thought to myself as I rubbed the top of my head. She'll never change.

…

[Crassi]

I threw my sword up as an Aedra slashed down at me. I didn't know where they got their weapons, but it carved through my sword like it was butter. And it carved through my arm just as easily. I jumped back in time for it to only do minimal damage, but I was now bleeding. And that was only the Aedra's first slash. It was now charging right at me, thrusting its blade out at me.

I jumped away in time. The sword only traveled alongside my ribs, cutting me briefly. I was pouring as much magicka into my wounds as I could, trying to seal them up. This Aedra wasn't stopping. That sword was flying back into my unarmored side, its sharp edge pushing into me. I willed as much magicka as I could muster to hold a barrier in my skin. It's a technique called 'iron skin'. It was helping, I wasn't dying, but…I couldn't hold up much longer.

I cried out in pain and exhaustion as my skin started to falter. I could feel the sword pass into more of my side, cutting more than just skin. I felt hot blood rolling down to my legs and I knew that I was going to die soon if I didn't do something soon. It couldn't end like this! I could not disgrace my newly designed Ruins and Dwarves character. My Falmer paladin needed to find her place in the world!

I willed as much power as I could into my hand and I launched it out at the Aedra's sword hand. My energy exploded on impact with its palm and I saw the hand explode into an orange mess of Aedra blood. It was a good thing too because my inner barrier had just failed and that sword would have passed right through me. I was about to stumble back, but I couldn't stop now. So I jumped forward and slammed my already charged fist into the Aedra's face. I was welcomed by an exploding head. After that, I fell forward onto my knees in exhaustion. Was I safe?

I looked around at the surrounding fifty Aedra that were now drawing two swords each. Nope…not safe yet. The Aedra all screeched out in war and I felt my head splitting in two as their cries rolled down into my soul. They were going to kill me using their voice alone if I didn't do something soon.

I lost all feeling in my legs and I fell onto my chest, all the life drained out of my body. This was it. I couldn't go on any longer. "Get away from her!" Travis called out. I saw out of the corner of my eye, he was running up to me, strapping on his magically enchanted boxing gloves. That Redguard was something else. He preferred hand-to-hand. That's why we chose him for the infiltration/recon squad. Looks like he was coming up to save me.

An Aedra saw him approaching and turned to face him. It didn't stand a chance. Travis flashed forward, flying right up to the beast, jabbing out his right hand. A massive ball of fire exploded on impact with the Aedra's face and the headless Aedra fell to the floor. He didn't stop there. He slammed both of his gloved hands to the ground. The ground shattered and lightning and fire ripped through the ground, consuming several Aedra as he did so. The remaining Aedra turned to face him. Then they all disappeared as they turned into a flash.

Travis suddenly cried out his own war cry. He spun around rapidly, dodging the random appearing Aedra as they slashed at him. It was like watching a master of close combat dance around hundreds of enemies fighting with swords. And that was exactly what was happening. Travis came from a family of gladiators. His father was some leader of the Blue Team of the Arena in the Imperial City. He also had a sister that was in the Fighters Guild. I could see how the family resemblance now. I had only seen him fight so hard against Vatu and Erandur during sparring matches. I hadn't seen him this amped up since then.

While he kept the Aedra busy, Pakinla was rushing up to me, healing me again. "Is this going to happen a lot then?" She asked me jokingly as she fed golden magic into my wounds.

I nodded. "Yup, at least once every hour. Hope you don't mind."

"I think I would if it didn't give me something to do." She responded.

I watched as dead Aedra suddenly appeared, parts of their bodies flying off, magic from Travis's gloves contacting with something. It was an awesome show. I think I was falling in love. Too bad he likes Primrose. Suddenly, Travis stopped fighting and he stood still. All the Aedra that were fighting us were lying around him, as dead as they could get.

He only smiled and wiped his nose in that cocky fashion. "You can thank my sister for those moves."

I smiled. "I'll thank you first." I pushed myself up and I rushed up to him. I was going to kiss him as soon as I could.

"Wait!" Pakinla cried. "Your wounds aren't healed yet. You might…"

My world suddenly felt very heavy and my legs gave out. Everything turned dark and…

…

…

"Crassi!" Travis cried. "Wake up you stubborn Breton!"

My eyes slowly slid open and I could see Travis holding onto me. He was filled with concern. I was happy to see him. The area around me was filled with bodies of our fallen. I guess they thought I was dead. I looked around and I could see Davilia lying next to me.

I gasped out in alarm. "Davilia? Why is she in here?"

Travis pulled me close to him. "See…well…"

Erandur walked into the tent. "She passed out from healing everyone that came through here. She poured everything into healing William and then she passed out. William…he didn't make it, though. He's head."

"The Troop Leader? That William?"

Erandur nodded. "Yup, that William."

Oh man…I really loved his sense of humor. This unit would not be the same without William. Nope…he was such a memorable character. Wait…how come I don't remember much about him?

* * *

_**Cearbhail: **Wow, who expected that? I bet you don't even remember him. Khajiit Battlemage, chapter 21, Not in the Face. yeah... that's the only mention of him... until now. :P_


	30. Ch 30: Betrayal

**Cearbhail:** _And...I've done it again. I've strayed away from what I originally wanted from this story. And NO! I will not change it. because I believe this could be so much better. Things have evolved beyond what I originally wanted and NO! I will not change it. but just so you know... it was going to happen eventually but then way it ends in this chapter...was not how it was supposed to happen. but now a whole new thing has come into my mind of how it will play out... and I love it._

* * *

[Nexa]

"We have wounded!" I cried into the tent. Vatu leaned lifelessly in my arms and I struggled to keep him up on his knees as I tried as quickly as I could to get him into the medical tent. Nakuma was on the other side of Vatu, trying to keep him up and awake.

Normally, we would have let Primrose do her thing, but she's just as out of sorts as Vatu was. While Erandur and Lilly covered our retreat with the Lich Khajiit and the little Khajiit flying around in circles above us (keeping us clear from sky bombs), the rest of us were ushering our wounded and knocked out to the medical ward. Oleeme and Huir were transporting Primrose. Huir was almost in tears at seeing Primrose injured, almost fatally. I had no idea Primrose was his daughter. Heck, I'm not sure anyone knew, even Primrose. Imagine that family reunion in a few minutes. I'd rather not.

A White Robe stuck her head out of the tent, pushing the tarp away so that we could enter unhindered. She waved us in, nodding in welcome. "We have some space left. Hurry, hurry." She said as several explosions showered dirt on us.

Nakuma and I rushed as fast as we could. Vatu was barely holding on, his breathing growing raspier. If we didn't treat him soon, we might lose him. I scanned the tent to find some location to set Vatu down. I found a nice spot next to some Breton girl that was rubbing her lightly bleeding head. I nodded a welcome to her as she glared at the unconscious Vatu in my arms. Nakuma and I took a nice deep breath as we set him down. As soon as his arm slid off my shoulder, I felt myself falling down as well. I was beat. Looking over at Nakuma, who was panting as if she was going to die, I think I was the better trained. I wonder how much magic she had to use just to be able to carry him like she did. I know she's not as physically strong as I am but…she managed to carry a wounded member of our team just as easily as I did.

As Nakuma started to come back to the world, she looked up at the White Robe, glaring at her in confusion. "Pakinla? What are you doing here?"

She bent down to check out Vatu, running her glowing hands over his wounds. "I'm here under our Queen and Warlord's orders. Most of the Argonian military is here in this battle. All the Shadowmaster, shadowblades, white robes, shadowwraiths, and scales. There are Black Marshals also lending aid to combatants."

I shook my head. "Black Marshals? Towers? Town guards?" That didn't make any sense. Why would Father pull the Black Marshals for this battle? There had to be more to this. "Why would Father do that?"

Pakinla looked over at me. "You don't know? This battle…is everything we can throw at these Aedra. We're putting all our resources into this battle."

"But that's stupid. If someone wanted to get rid of the world leaders at the war council…now'd be the time to do so. There would be no guards or shadowmasters to protect the Queen. Father must be losing his mind!" I screamed quietly to Pakinla, who only shrugged in return.

"I am only a White Robe, a healer. I do not think beyond my duty to heal." She paused to run her hand over Vatu. "I do not feel any injury inside him. In fact, he's only growing stronger inside." She started to stand up, grabbing her head in pain. "Ahh!" she cried. "That…what was that….that thing?" She backed up. "Everyone, we need to clear out."

I looked back down at Vatu. He was looking right back up at me…his eyes shining bright red. "Blood-rager!" I just had enough time to scream before a claw found its way into my stomach plate.

…

[Warlord Zeelius]

_{Blood rager!}_

That was the magic word I needed to hear. We had successfully barred off the entire battlefield, and now every Aedra was trapped in that bubble with a crazy Khajiit that couldn't feel any pain. If I was lucky, he'd die in battle, but only after wiping out half of them.

I tapped my transmitter. "Code Red-Eye to all Shadowmasters. We have a Code Red-Eye. Priorities: watch and wait. Wait for my signal to eliminate."

I got several blinks of acknowledges and I sat back in my seat. "This should be a good show."

_{Nakuma and Shadowblade Nexa are wounded! Watch out…he's left the medical tent. He's…he's engaging the Aedra.} _I heard one of the shadowscales report. I think it was Meesei.

What? My daughter was injured? By that…_thing_? I would not have that. "What? What happened to my daughter?"

_{That Khajiit, sir. When he woke up, he had these bright red eyes. He slashed at everyone in front of him. I don't think he's mentally responsible, though. He was screaming something about Dunmer slavers at the time. I think he's in a hallucination.} _I heard a new voice call over the receiver. It sounded like one of the White Robes.

"I don't care where the oblivion he believes he is, did he kill my daughter?" I screamed into my transmitter.

_{No, sir. Both Nakuma and Nexa were only lightly scratched. They were knocked unconscious by the Khajiit before he charged out of the tent. The Khajiit seems to be focusing all his efforts on the Aedra now, sir. You should take this opportunity to observe him.}_ She cooed lightly through the comms.

I nodded and started to focus my screen on the now almost impossible to track blip that was quickly making red dots blink out. I zoomed in and locked onto the creature, putting up the visual screen. I turned my attention back to the image on the globe as I watched one of the most violent actions I've ever seen in my life. The Khajiit had a full shield covering his body as he slashed his claws in a fury at the Aedra that swarmed over him. His claws moved so quickly that his arms were a blur. All I could see were the countless Aedra attempting to swarm turn into bloody messes. No really, that's all I could see. Aedra coming around him and then just blood everywhere. It was a marvelous sight.

I zoomed the picture out to see that more of the Aedra were beginning to swarm around the Khajiit. Their dots were blinking out rapidly as the Khajiit started pushing himself out. It was a good thing that this Khajiit had gone mystical because our numbers were beginning to fade. We had exhausted our Daedra numbers for the day and our magical defenses were worn down. It was almost about to become a massacre. Good, now was the time for the decisive strike.

I looked over at Sosia, who shook her head in horror. "My son is in so much pain…" She breathed out lightly. She covered her face and leaned back in her chair. "I wish I could help him."

I held a small laugh and looked over at the globe. "Now's our chance for a quick victory. That Khajiit has assembled every Aedra into the center. I say we launch everything we have at it while we have the chance. If we were to launch every oil-filled arrow into the center of this conflict, I believe that we could actually burn and melt every living Aedra inside this bubble. Of course…the Khajiit in the middle of it all would most likely die in the aftermath."

Fiirnar nodded and started consulting his crystal balls. "I do believe that will be the best outcome we can deliver. In all my calculations, we may end up killing the Khajiit, though."

Sosia stood up from her chair. "Then we're not doing it! He's my son and one of my battlemages. If there is a chance that he might die…we're not doing it."

Fiirnar turned to look at her. His face was contorted into a sinister smile. "If that is your wish, milady. I do find it hard to believe that you are willing to risk every other battlemage, soldier, and just about every one of our forces just for one tiny _cat_. If we just do this little…insignificant finishing move…we could spare hundreds of lives, including the ones of all the civilians still inside Cheydinhal…who never volunteered to die in honor."

Ri'saddo jumped up from his seat as well, hissing at Fiirnar. "You may be an ally of Elsweyr, but watch your tongue, Elf. While Ri'saddo agrees with your plan, he cannot agree with your statement about this Khajiit being a tiny cat. He is a Sengar, a warrior of Khajiits' great Alkosh, the Sen'che. He is no insignificant cat…he is one of the last of noble blood."

I smirked at hearing that. One of the last? After today, there would be one less. I looked over at Sosia and smiled. "Ma'am, how does that make you feel? Your son is one of the last crazy murderous Khajiits still alive. I bet your…other daughter is one as well." _And I plan on having them both slotted now that this one has revealed to me just how deadly he really is._

Sosia only shook her head before standing up. "I can't watch this anymore. I need a quick breath."

I watched as she quickly slid out of the room. I could understand where she was coming from, being a father. This cat was her son, however trivial of a thing that was, and we were just discussing how to best kill him and every known Aedra. Fiirnar paced around the map, glancing at me and then at my Queen. I suddenly felt a very cold trickle over my back-spines. I felt…I felt…

My air started to escape my lungs and my vision started to blacken. I found my body growing weak. I glanced up to see that everyone else was reacting similarly as I was. My guards were falling over, grasping their lungs as they fought whatever it was that they were fighting. My council leaders were falling down left and right. I looked back at the Queen to see that she had an arrow sticking out of her head and blood was already staining her chair.

I saw movement and tried to focus my eyes. Fiirnar paced back and forth, holding a small bottle with green fumes that poured out into the air. I looked up to see that it had been floating up there for a while now. Fiirnar was still pacing back and forth, looking at the rest of us. He had a sick smile gathering on his face.

"I heard what your daughter said…about how wrong it was that every single soldier in the world was gathered in one small spot. She prattled on about how easily it would be for someone to just…kill the council since they had no protection. Imagine: a bubble that keeps everyone locked in, a bubble that will not allow teleportation out. Your 'Shadowmasters' are all out in that bubble, unable to come and help you in your time of need. That was an exciting thought for me to run through my mind. I thought…if I was going to enact my plan to overthrow all of Tamriel's forces and submit an order to surrender to all the insignificant countries…now would be the time. She was right. It was too easy." Fiirnar said as he gazed around us. "The only one that could have negated this poison has stepped out to get her breath back. I'll just be waiting here for her alone. But first…"

He walked up to me and grabbed my transmitter. He pulled it up to his mouth and smiled wickedly at me. "Initiate order: eliminate blood-rager." His voice sounded exactly like mine! I felt my heart skip a beat. He smiled at me and pushed me down. "Ever hear of Illusion magic? It can do wonderful things. Like…change your voice…or at least make everyone else believe it's changed." He looked into my eyes and started laughing maniacally. "You look so pathetic. You all do. This is why the Altmer deserve to be on top! This is why we are taking back our birthright! The Aldmeri Dominion will never bow down to you insignificant worms ever again. We are perfection; we are the true rulers of Tamriel: not some spineless lizards or brutal humans."

Ri'saddo looked over at Fiirnar and hissed at him. "You…you are filth…"

Fiirnar chuckled to himself as he spun away from me. "And you…" He said. "Are just a lowly _cat_." With a snap of his fingers Ri'saddo's head rolled off his shoulders and exploded into blood. He turned to face me with a smile growing on his face. "Be glad I have completed your final wish. I will see that this blood-rager is killed. I will make sure the entire planet knows that he's the enemy." He pulled up his sleeve and I caught a small glimpse of a dart-launcher. He pointed his launcher at my head and said, "Goodbye, lizard."

Just as he was about to fire, we both heard the door open up. Sosia walked in to see us all lying dead. Fiirnar and I were the only ones still remaining. She growled at both of us before pulling out her staff. Fiirnar raised his hand and I heard one of his darts snap off. Sosia seemed to block the shot with some sort of spell and just like that…she vanished.

I found myself laughing deeply. "You see that? Your plan has just failed."

He frowned as he pointed his hand back at me. "A minor setback." I heard him release the arrow and I felt something fly into my head. After that…I didn't feel anything at all.

…

[Nexa]

My chest cried out in pain. My ribs felt like they were shattered on my left side. But that didn't stop me from standing up, or from chasing after Vatu after he charged through the door. _{Initiate order: eliminate blood-rager.}_

My heart sank into my chest and I found myself falling to my knees. _NO!_ He did it…he really did it. Now I had to do my duty…and choose what path I was going to follow. In front of me was a crazy Khajiit that couldn't tell me friend from foe. On one path, I could charge in and attempt to kill him. I could do it too. Then I could go home and live out the rest of my life with my Father. I could become Queen after the current one passes and I could get married to some prince. I could live that life as one of the most powerful Argonians in history.

But…the other path. That was a tricky one because it splits into two paths. I can defend Vatu with everything I have. I would be against every shadowscale, every shadowblade…every shadowmaster. And I could die…as well as Vatu. Or Vatu could die, and I'd be either tortured for the rest of my life or just killed on the spot as a traitor. Or…we could both outlive this fight. And then what? The two of us fall in love and constantly run from Argonians. Or he could fall in love with the Wood Elf and I'd have done all this for pretty much nothing. I'd be alone…forever. And I bet I'd still be following him, protecting him from all Argonian threats.

I had to choose. I had my orders. Which path was right for me? I shook my head and pushed myself up onto my feet. I found tears rolling down my eyes. It wasn't fair that my father would put this burden on me. I knew he would do it, but it didn't help lessen the burden any. But now…it was time for me to abandon everything I knew and loved. I'm sorry, Mother. I hope you didn't have to see this.

I looked back to see both Ram-ku and Meesei look at Vatu. Meesei was smiling, saying, "Finally."

I stood up and stepped in front of them. "No." I said. "I won't let you hurt him." I pushed my hand out, snapping one of my short blades to my hand. I aimed it at Meesei's throat and pushed against it. "You will back off…or you will die."

She glanced at me, her orange eyes glaring at me. "Gee, who would have guessed? The traitorous Khajiit-lover has shown her true scales." She flicked her own blade out and pointed it at my unprotected stomach. I had forgotten that my armor had taken a serious beating from Vatu earlier. "You do realize that right now…you're a traitor, right? If you just pull your blade back and help us kill him…it won't end with you dead."

I glanced at both of them with mercy in my eyes. "Please, think about this. He's not as dangerous as you think. If you just…" I felt Meesei's blade sink into my stomach. I gazed down to see that my stomach was slashed open.

"We're shadowscales. We're not trained to think…we're trained to kill." She replied and marched past me, leaving me to deal with my stomach. Or…so she thought.

I watched from the tent as my illusion vanished. I glanced down at Nakuma, who was still catching her breath. "Nakuma…are you with me?"

Nakuma nodded. "That voice…it wasn't the Warlord's. I could hear through the Illusion spell. It was some Altmer's voice."

Oleeme nodded. "I came to the same conclusion. If the Warlord's voice was not his own…I believe the Warlord is dead."

I felt my heart skip another beat. "An Altmer's voice…" I stopped to think about it. Then it popped into my head. "Councilor Fiirnar. My Father…he was always trying to warn me that he was dangerous. He must…oh no…he heard what I said about the council being easy targets. He must have figured that if he was going to do something that…that it was the time to do it. This is _my_ fault."

Oleeme stuck his hand out to me, pulling me up. "Shadowblade…now is not the time to dwell on that line of thinking. Now is the time to defend your Khajiit friend."

Nakuma nodded. "Yeah, we're behind you. Even if the Warlord _did_ issue the command, I still wouldn't do it. And I bet Oleeme wouldn't either."

Oleeme looked over at Nakuma with his glowing white eyes. "I would. It would be an official order from our Warlord. However, the order was not given to us by the Warlord, but by an imposter. That makes the previous order: protect the blood-rager still in effect."

"Ah…so you all caught it too." Julanza said as he appeared by the doorway with both Meesei and Ram-ku next to him. They were both knocked out. He dropped the knocked out shadowscales onto the ground and glanced at us. "I also heard through the Illusion spell. That was Fiirnar's voice, definitely. He must really want the Khajiit eliminated if he were too use my brother's voice just to issue the order. What I do not understand is why my brother has not contradicted this order yet. He must be incapable of speaking. I should go and see if he needs help."

He closed his eyes and made the hand-sign for shadowporting. He stood there for a few seconds before glancing around the room. "I…my shadowport is not working."

Lilly stepped into the room, nodding. "The Aedra have set up a non-teleportation barrier. We can't leave by teleporting…and we can't leave by walking either. Not until this battle is over. Or…until our mages drop the Shield. And if they do that too early…we'll be in another wave, and this one…will be harder."

Julanza glanced around the tent. "Then we must fight. If we help Vatu clear out what is left of the Aedra…we should be able to leave." Then he glanced at Lilly and narrowed his eyes. "What is happening to the Council?"

Lilly looked confused but then she closed her blind eyes. When she opened them, she frowned. "Everyone is dead."

Julanza nodded, looking over at me. "My Princess…what are your orders?"

What? That is not what I was expecting to hear.

* * *

_**Cearbhail: **Who says you can only have one of the two paths when you can have both?_


End file.
